Kehlani used her platform at the 2026 Grammys to protest ICE as she accepted her first of two awards Sunday night (Feb. 1).
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The singer won best R&B performance, followed by best R&B song, for her top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Folded” during the Grammy Premiere ceremony, the pre-televised portion of show that streamed online ahead of the 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT broadcast on CBS and Paramount+. The honors marked Kehlani’s first-ever Grammy wins; she’s a seven-time nominee.
“I need a second,” Kehlani said upon taking the Crypto.com Arena stage in Los Angeles to accept her award for best R&B performance. “My first time being nominated for a Grammy was 10 years ago to this show.”
After thanking her team — her manager, executive producer and more — Kehlani’s urged the artists around her to join her in using their voices to denounce the aggressive actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“What I wanna make sure that I say is that everybody is so powerful in this room … And together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now,” the singer said as she wrapped her speech. “So instead of letting it be just a couple of you here and there, I hope everybody’s inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on.”
“I’mma leave this and say f— ICE,” Kehlani said.
Accepting her second win of the night, for best R&B song, Kehlani dedicated the moment to her mom.
“My mother adopted me. You didn’t have to. You didn’t have to give up your life for me. You could’ve done whatever you wanted in your 20s but instead you chose to take care of me, and to put me in all the programs, and all the things that would feed who I am today. So, Mommy, I owe you everything. I love you so much,” she said on the Grammys stage. A video of her second acceptance speech was uploaded on the Recording Academy’s YouTube account.
Wearing an “ICE OUT” pin affixed to her gown, Kehlani had already made her position against the U.S. administration’s immigration raids clear on the Grammys red carpet earlier in the evening.
“I really wanted to say ‘f— ICE,’ but I think they needed some ‘couth’ or something on the carpet,” Kehlani said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Sunday night, after posing for red carpet photos. “I’m a little couthless, ruthless. But I think everybody, we’re too powerful of a group to all be in the room at the same time and not make some kind of statement in our country. It’s brainless to me.”
A full list of 2026’s Grammy winners, updating live throughout the night on Sunday, can be followed here.
