Queer artists and LGBTQ+ allies made a strong showing at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, with several using their acceptance speeches to blast Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) brutal enforcement of immigration policies.

Steadfast LGBTQ+ ally Bad Bunny, who has become a lightning rod for the MAGA right since it was announced in September that he would headline this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, took home three awards out of his six nominations, including the evening’s biggest, Album of the Year, for his Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

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“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out,” Bunny said while accepting the award for Best Latin Urban Album. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”

“The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love,” he continued. “So, please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love.”

Later in the night, Bunny closed his Album of the Year acceptance speech by dedicating the award “to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country to follow their dreams.”

While accepting the award for Song of the Year alongside brother and songwriting partner Finneas, Billie Eilish delivered an even more direct call to action.

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

Similarly, queer singer-songwriter Kehlani, who won their first-ever Grammy for Best R&B Performance for their song “Folded,” used their speech to call on the powerful people at last night’s ceremony to “speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now.”

“I hope that everybody is inspired to join together as a community of artists, and speak out against what’s going on,” Kehlani said. “F**k ICE!”

Kehlani, Eilish, and Finneas were just a few of the high-profile stars to wear “ICE Out” pins at the Grammys. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Carole King, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Rhiannon Giddens, and Songwriter of the Year winner Amy Allen were all spotted wearing the pins, which were distributed as part of a campaign organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, Maremoto, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Working Families Power.

The night’s other big LGBTQ+ winners included British singer-songwriter Lola Young (Best Pop Solo Performance), Doechii (Best Music Video), and Cynthia Erivo, who won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance along with LGBTQ+ ally Ariana Grande for “Defying Gravity” from Wicked.

Lady Gaga scored trophies for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Dance Pop Recording. Following Bad Bunny’s win for Album of the Year, Entertainment Tonight asked the “Abracadabra” singer about why she appeared to tear up during his acceptance speech.

“I thought what he said was incredibly important right now and so inspiring,” Gaga told the outlet. “What’s happening in this country is incredibly heartbreaking and we’re so lucky to have leaders like him that are speaking up for what is true and what is right.”

Lady Gaga shares why she had such a tearful reaction to Bad Bunny’s historic Album of the Year win at the #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/wFeJTBSGRC

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 2, 2026

Another vocal LGBTQ+ ally to take home Grammys this year was country singer Tyler Childers (Best Country Song).

Other queer and queer-adjacent highlights included out pop star Chappell Roan’s extremely revealing dress and a wild appearance by Cher. After accepting a special lifetime achievement award, the 79-year-old gay icon had to be called back to the stage by host Trevor Noah to present the award for Record of the Year. She then announced the late Luther Vandros as the winner, apparently misreading “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA.

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I’ve never taken comfort in the phrase, “HIV isn’t a death sentence anymore.” Yes, the phrase is meant to honor the hard-won victories achieved by HIV activists so that current generations of newly HIV-positive people could live long and fulfilling lives without fear, but the slogan is only as true if we have access to medication and social services.

The truth is that 4,496 U.S. residents died of HIV-related illnesses in 2023. Of them, 24% were women, 30% were over 55 years old, 43% were Black, and 56% lived in the South, where homophobia, lack of sex education, and poverty run rampant. And the current political situation will only increase those numbers.

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It’s now more important than ever to learn lessons from past generations of HIV activists, understand the challenges presently facing today’s HIV advocates, and to forecast the promises (and perils) of future HIV developments in our country.

That’s why LGBTQ Nation’s February 2026 Issue examines the past, present, and future of HIV activism. It’s an issue that affects everyone — whether you yourself have HIV or know someone who is. And, in commemoration of Black History Month, many of our stories will elevate Black voices and experiences to share often-overlooked experiences in the struggle against HIV.

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Our cover story this month will look back at the history of Black HIV activism through an anti-racist lens with the assistance of Dr. Aishah Scott, a professor of Black studies and health sciences who is writing a book about the AIDS epidemic in urban Black America.

A cultural piece will examine groundbreaking films about Black people living with HIV and why they remain culturally significant today. We’ll look at how the current administration’s HIV policy is affecting Black communities, how advocates are combating HIV criminalization laws that disproportionately harm Black queer men, and report on a recent roundtable of leading Black HIV activists on the challenges ahead.

Several of our pieces will also focus on women, another oft-overlooked community still impacted by the epidemic, including tales of the lesbians who bravely cared for queer men during the epidemic’s worst days; a look at Zelda Rubenstein, the celebrity ally who helped raise awareness of HIV at a time when few celebrities publicly spoke about it; and an assessment of how HIV continues to impact women today.

Our edition will also provide clear-eyed reasons for hope as well, examining the astonishing stories of people who’ve been cured of HIV, the role that injectable PrEP will play in drastically reducing new infections, and the latest developments in the continued race for an HIV vaccine and cure.

The stakes remain high, and we’re at a crossroads: The federal government wants to turn back the clock, but it’s facing headwinds from visionary activists fighting for a more humane future.

We only arrived at this moment because of the generations of queer HIV activists and researchers before us — many of whom were forced to innovate and create solutions for community care when the government couldn’t have cared less.

It’s this humanity and vision that can see us through to a future where HIV is just another manageable illness and healthcare is for everyone.

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