Ricky Gervais criticises celebrities for making political speeches at 2026 Grammys

Ricky Gervais has again called out celebrities for making political speeches at a big awards show.

The Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on 2 February saw winners like Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish making speeches denouncing US president Donald Trump’s increasingly unpopular immigration crackdown.

Gervais didn’t seem impressed by any of it. “They’re still not listening,” the comedian wrote on X, along with a snippet of his 2020 Golden Globes monologue telling the gathered celebrities not to use their acceptance speeches to make political points.

“If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a political platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg,” the snippet of his speech read.

Gervais had done the same after last year’s Grammy.

Hosting the 2020 Golden Globes, Gervais delivered a hugely memorable and widely praised speech that bluntly called out celebrities for political grandstanding.

In addition to the snippet he posted on X, the After Life star had told the crowd of A-list celebrities: “So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and f*** off, OK? It’s already three hours long. Right, let’s do the first award.”

Amid ongoing demonstrations in the US over the shooting deaths of two citizens by federal agents in Minnesota, several artists showed up at the Grammys wearing “ICE Out” pins. They included Eilish and her brother Finneas, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Kehlani, Samara Joy, and Justin Bieber.

Rapper Bad Bunny – whose upcoming Super Bowl halftime show is facing significant MAGA backlash – received a massive standing ovation when he began his acceptance speech for the Best Música Urbana Album by saying: “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ICE out.”

“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans,” the singer said. “The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don't hate them. We love our people, we love our family, and that's the way to do it – with love. Don't forget that, please.”

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Later in the evening, while accepting her award for Song of the Year, Billie Eilish said that “no one is illegal on stolen land” before concluding: “F*** ICE.”

Singer Kehlani slammed US president Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in a statement on the red carpet. “I wanted to say f*** ICE,” Kehlani told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I think they needed some couth on the carpet or something. I'm a little couthless ruthless. I think everybody – we’re too powerful of a group to all be in a room at the same time and not make some kind of statement in our country, so it’s brainless to me.”

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Justin Vernon, whose band Bon Iver was nominated for the best alternative music album award, told the Associated Press he was wearing a whistle to honour those documenting the actions of ICE officers.

The day after the awards show, several MAGA social media figures and conservative commentators slammed what they called the “pathetic” and “out of touch” display.

“Overpaid musicians and celebrities at the #GRAMMYs say “F*** ICE. Meanwhile, the hardworking men and women of ICE and border patrol (majority Hispanic) are out on the streets removing public safety threats and protecting communities,” Tomi Lahren, a Fox News commentator, fumed on X. “The audacity is astounding.”