And Mr. “Bad” said “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out… We’re not savages. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans… The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love… If we fight, we have to do it with love…”

And what irony: an artist who calls himself “Bad Bunny” finds it too brutal. Image: instagram/Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny expresses outrage over ICE at the Grammys and presents himself as a moral authority. Applause from the right rows, standing ovations included. Fair enough.

It’s just unfortunate that, amid all this indignation, a few uncomfortable realities are quietly swept under the red carpet.

Because gangs are not misunderstood victims of the system. They are not romantic, not rebellious, not “street poetry”. In the United States, there are repeated acts of extreme violence —people are brutally attacked, tortured, even burned alive in subway cars. This is no metaphor; it is pure evil.

And what irony: an artist who deliberately calls himself “Bad Bunny” and plays with aesthetics of harshness, transgression, lawlessness, and moral gray areas is not surprised that these codes end up in a scene where violence is glorified, but rather that they are fought against in order to protect the weak. In this genre, stars are not marginal figures —they are role models, soundtracks, and sources of inspiration.

One can criticize ICE.
One can criticize deportation policy.
One can criticize state violence.

But if you live off the image of the “bad”, off a calculated flirtation with darkness and aggression, it feels rather convenient to pretend that all evil comes only from authorities —and never from one’s own scene, one’s own symbolism, one’s own soundtrack.

Moral outrage is easy when it points in only one direction.
Evil remains evil —whether it wears a uniform or comes wrapped in beats.

By Okay Altinisik | 3-2-2026, 14:34:27