Grammys host Trevor Noah made several digs at Donald Trump during Sunday night’s ceremony, joking “this may be my last time I get to host anything in this country”.
Noah, the former host of The Daily Show, returned to host the Grammys for a fifth consecutive year, overseeing a show where Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Charli XCX were the biggest winners on the night.
In his opening monologue, Noah made references to Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Rihanna as well as the new administration in the White House.
The South African comedian noted how the Grammy winners are determined after a vote of 13,000 members of the Recording Academy and also joked that the vote included “20 million illegal immigrants”.
The 40-year-old later said: “There’s been a few changes in Washington. So I’m gonna enjoy tonight because this may be the last time I get to host anything in this country.”
Last week, President Trump’s new immigration policy was implemented, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids leading to the arrest of 1,179 people across major cities in the US.
Elsewhere, Noah’s speech did generate some controversy after he made a joke about Shakira and her native country Colombia.
“Three-time Grammy winner Shakira is in the house,” Noah pointed out. “The greatest thing out of Colombia that isn’t a Class A felony.”
On X/Twitter, many people accused Noah of poor timing given the threat of deportations currently facing Latin American immigrants in the US.
“Trevor Noah making an immigration joke in the middle of mass deportations taking place,” one person tweeted.
“That tasteless joke about illegal immigrants was so unnecessary. Do better Trevor Noah,” added another.
“We, the Colombians, are sick of being treated like criminals #Grammys2025 @Trevornoah we are waiting for an apology,” a third tweeted.
“Trevor Noah’s jokes were so distasteful and unnecessary [sic],” a fourth wrote.
The ceremony comes after Colombia backed down in the face of Trump’s tariff threats over immigrant deportations.
Trump threatened Colombia with “decisive retaliatory measures” including tariffs and visa sanctions after Colombia denied entry to two U.S. flights on military planes carrying people who were allegedly living in the country without legal permission.
