Billie Eilish Delivers a Pointed ‘F–k ICE’ in Grammys Speech: ‘No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land’

Billie Eilish was not one of the leading nominees going into the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 1), but when she came out on top in the song of the year category for “Wildflower” from her 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, the 24-year-old singer added an 11th golden gramophone to her already groaning prize shelf, as well as launching another pointed dart at the Trump administration.

She had way more to say than the usual thank yous to her producer, label, the Recording Academy and God. Taking the stage with her writing partner and musical foil, brother Finneas, Eilish humbly accepted the award from songwriting legend Carole King.

Giving props to the other nominees in the category, Eilish, who has been a loud and frequent critic of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration tactics, said, “As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything but that … no one is illegal on stolen land,” as fellow nominees Sabrina Carpenter and the members of KPop Demon Hunters band HUNTR/X clapped in support of Eilish’s message of unity.

“And, yeah it’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now,” continued Eilish, who, like many in the audience at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, was wearing an “ICE Out” pin as part of a protest against Trump’s immigration enforcement surge, which in January resulted in the killing of two American citizens by immigration enforcement agents.

“I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter and the people matter,” Eilish continued. “And f–k ICE is all I wanna say, sorry,” she added.

The singer-songwriter has spent the past month and a half speaking out loudly about the Trump administration’s immigration actions, calling ICE a “terrorist group” after its killing of 37-year-old poet and mother of three Renée Nicole Good, and blasting the organization’s Minnesota operation while accepting the MLK Jr. Environmental Justice award in January.

While Eilish has been on an unbeatable Grammy run over the past few years, she came into Sunday night’s show with just two nominations, winning the songwriter-centered song of the year award over a stacked deck that included Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Bad Bunny’s “DtMF,” HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild.”

“Wildflower” was also up for record of the year.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.