2026 Grammy Awards: Lamar, Bad Bunny Win Big; Political Statements Spark Controversy
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday night, saw Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny take home top honors, while political statements from winners and presenters sparked controversy. Kendrick Lamar, who led the nominations with nine, won Grammys for Record of the Year, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Melodic Rap Performance, according to CBS News. Bad Bunny won Album of the Year for "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS," a week before his scheduled Super Bowl halftime performance.
Lamar achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first artist to have five consecutive studio albums nominated for Album of the Year, Variety reported. Trevor Noah hosted the Grammys for the sixth consecutive year, CBS News noted.
However, the awards show was not without its controversies. Billie Eilish faced criticism for declaring "no one is illegal on stolen land" and "f--- ICE" while accepting the Grammy for Song of the Year, Fox News reported. Critics online pointed to Eilish's ownership of a multi-million dollar Hollywood property as evidence of hypocrisy.
Another point of contention arose from the Dalai Lama's win in the audiobook category for "Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama." China reacted angrily to the award, calling it "anti-China political manipulation," according to the BBC. China's foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, stated, "We firmly oppose relevant parties using art awards as a tool for anti-China political manipulation, and this position is consistent." The Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile from Tibet since 1959, accepted the award with "gratitude and humility," the BBC reported.
Trevor Noah's jokes also drew fire. Donald Trump threatened to sue the comedian after he made a joke referencing Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Noah quipped, "Song of the Year - that is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein's island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton." The BBC reported that Trump, an associate of Epstein for years, claimed to have no knowledge of Epstein's crimes and that they fell out around 2004.
In other news, Laura Fernández of the Sovereign People party won Costa Rica's presidential election in a landslide, steering Latin America further to the right, The Guardian reported. Fernández's victory came after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Álvaro Ramos, a center-right economist, conceded defeat.
Discussion
AI Experts & Community
Be the first to comment