Over the weekend, we learned about a very powerful, very rich cadre of people who think they have inordinate control over the direction of our nation&#8217;s politics.
I&#8217;m speaking, of course, about the Grammys.
This year’s Grammys were filled with our usual celebrity geniuses spouting their usual performative politics to the cheers of their fellow celebrities.
The reason I&#8217;m pointing this out is because if you ever wonder what the room is like where special people hash out what our culture ought to look like, it looks like the Grammys.
What makes the Grammys and so many of our award shows fascinating is that they are an inside look for the rest of the world of what these people actually sound like at dinner parties.
I know a lot of the people in Hollywood. I&#8217;ve spoken with many of them. Far too often, we see people patting themselves on the back for their performative version of the most extreme radical politics in our society.
That’s the reason we are so annoyed when it shows up on our television. When people tune into the Grammys or the Oscars or any other awards show, what they expect is a celebration of the culture that we all share, the music or films that we all enjoy.
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Instead, what we usually get is a cocktail party punctuated by some people who share lifestyles holding up the trophy. These are the most protected, wealthy people in our society, and the people who share that lifestyle are people who tend to share their politics.
And they act as if we, the little people, are privileged because they are sharing their politics with us.
Sunday night at the Grammys, virtually every performer decided they were going to lead by ripping into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Trump administration. 
Obviously, there are other things going on in the world, and sometimes that’s the focus. Just a year or two ago, virtually everyone at the Grammys said something about the supposed evils of the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip.
Now, of course, the Iranian government has been mowing down protesters, perhaps by the tens of thousands.
Not one single word about that at the Grammys.
But lots of words for Immigration and Customs Enforcement doing its job in Minneapolis.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is apparently Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, and who was nominated for six Grammys, won an award for his album.
He’s the same guy who is supposed to perform at the Super Bowl, apparently wearing a dress, which is exactly what we all want.
(Because if you&#8217;re showing your nine-year-old son the Super Bowl, where men are men and athletic performance and grit and determination and heart are the keys to victory, what you really want is a dude gallivanting around in ladies&#8217; garments during halftime.)
<div id="attachment_1037523" style="width: 888px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1037523" class="size-large wp-image-1037523" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958804-878x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 1: Bad Bunny receives the award for Album of the Year at The 68th Annual Grammy Awards, broadcasting live Sunday, February 1, 2026 on the CBS Television Network, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+*. (Photo by Stewart Cook/CBS via Getty Images)" width="878" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958804-878x576.jpg 878w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958804-300x197.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958804-768x504.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958804.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 878px) 100vw, 878px" />Stewart Cook/CBS via Getty Images</div>
Bad Bunny proceeded to rip into ICE, which is precisely what we need to hear from this human.
“Before I say thanks to God, I&#8217;m going to say ‘ICE out,” he declared to thunderous applause. “We&#8217;re not savages. We’re not animals. We&#8217;re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans. And also, I want to say to people I know it&#8217;s tough not to hate on these days. &#8230; The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”
Deep words. Love is more powerful than hate. That is deep verbiage. I can see why he is such an acclaimed songwriter and performer.
I love how celebrities really believe that they are Michael Scott in “The Office.” They think they can walk into the middle of a room and shout, “I declare bankruptcy,” and it is legally effective.
If you go into a room with all of your fellow celebrities protected by armed security outside, where every single human who comes into that arena has to have their background checked, you can sit there and tell the rest of America that no protection is available — for them.
Billie Eilish —whom I would guess not only has armed security but a palatial estate surrounded by a fence because she has stalker problems— said, “nobody is illegal on stolen land.”
By stolen land, I assume she means all of planet Earth, since populations have been moving since the beginning of recorded human history.
Billie Eilish does look significantly less unhappy since she started dating a dude. At least, she’s got that going for her.
Olivia Dean chimed in, “I guess I want to say I&#8217;m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant, I wouldn&#8217;t be here.”
I should point out that a huge percentage of Americans have ancestors who came here at some point.
Oh, the bravery of these people. They all think alike. They all act as if they have similar lifestyles, and they are speaking to you, the little people, the people who don&#8217;t have armed security at your palatial estates or have people pay you millions upon millions of dollars to sing songs written by a large coterie of other people.
You need to hear their voices. You need to hear their words. These are the tastemakers. These are the people shaping the culture for our children.
Gloria Estefan compared ICE to the Holocaust.
You can&#8217;t just compare something to the Holocaust. Picking up individual illegal immigrants and sending them back to their home countries is not the same as an entire war infrastructure set up to systematically murder millions of people of a particular race.
America is not Nazi Germany. You know what you didn&#8217;t see in the middle of World War II? A bunch of artists getting up on red carpets, talking about how terrible the Nazis were — in Berlin.
<div id="attachment_1037525" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1037525" class="size-large wp-image-1037525" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258940660-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 1: Trevor Noah at The 68th Annual Grammy Awards, broadcasting live Sunday, February 1, 2026 on the CBS Television Network, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+*. (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258940660-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258940660-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258940660-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258940660.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images</div>
And of course, we got Trevor Noah hosting the Grammys, where he was his usual smarmy, obnoxious self, ripping Nicki Minaj for the great sin of having gone to the White House to promote the Trump accounts, which are savings accounts being set up for American children. “She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues,” he mocked to cheers from the audience.
I love that all the people cheering when he mocks Nicki Minaj for “discussing serious issues” act as though they are discussing serious issues.
They sing songs that are overproduced in autotune, and then they go on stage and pretend they know something about policy.
Noah dropped what he thought was a joke about Epstein Island and Trump and suggested that the president had been to Epstein Island. Trump fired back, threatening to sue Trevor Noah.
Why is any of this really important? Because when you have all the cultural tastemakers who are all pushing the same politics, that is likely to seep out into the broader culture, and sometimes these politics can go viral and turn into a brain worm that eats the American body politic.
You saw this, for example, with the trans issue, pushed by every cultural arbiter in American society. For a decade, this was promoted as the way to decide whether a person was virtuous or not, whether they were willing to say that a boy could be a girl and a girl could be a boy. 
It does make a difference when the entire cultural apparatus mobilizes behind an issue.
But there is something else here that is also worthy of note. Celebrities have their own social circle that tends to mirror itself. It is, in fact, a hallway of mirrors. You&#8217;re not welcome in a lot of these social circles if you have different politics. You cannot succeed if you don’t mirror their politics.
The story of Hollywood in its most depraved form, writ small, would be the Diddy “White Parties.” That was Hollywood in its most depraved form, writ small. That was a microcosm of what Hollywood is. That was the most extreme version of what&#8217;s happening in that cultural milieu.
But we are supposed to be privileged to listen to what these kinds of people have to say.

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards

The Grammys Hallway Of Mirrors: How Celebrity Performative Politics Infects Culture

Ben Shapiro

Grammy Awards

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Music

Opinion

Woke Culture

The 2026 Grammy Awards were supposed to celebrate music. Instead, they became another stage for Hollywood’s favorite performance: moral superiority without consequences.
This year, celebrities like Billie Eilish, Teddy Swims, and Justin Bieber donned <a href="https://variety.com/2026/music/news/grammys-ice-out-pins-billie-eilish-kehlani-bon-iver-1236648441/">“ICE Out”</a> pins and used their acceptance speeches to condemn Immigration and Customs Enforcement and lecture Americans about justice, compassion, and humanity. From their gilded seats inside Crypto.com Arena, they urged unity and resistance all while remaining safely insulated from the real world consequences of the policies they champion.
That is the part no one on that stage ever acknowledges.
The celebrities grandstanding about immigration do not live in border communities. They do not compete for jobs with illegal labor. They do not deal with overwhelmed schools, strained hospitals, or rising crime. They do not have to explain to grieving families why their loved ones died because basic immigration enforcement was treated as immoral.
Where was the outrage from Hollywood when Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal immigrant? Where were the pins, speeches, and standing ovations then? Silence. Because acknowledging victims like her would complicate the narrative, Hollywood prefers slogans over substance.
When Billie Eilish declared that no one is illegal on stolen land, critics pointed out the obvious contradiction. She lives in a multimillion dollar estate guarded by private security. If land ownership is illegitimate, why is she not handing over the keys. Virtue is easy when it costs nothing.
Hollywood’s moral theater is not about helping people. It is about signaling status. Proving you belong to the correct side of elite opinion while never having to live with the fallout.
That is why the reaction to Nicki Minaj was so revealing.
Minaj did not wear a pin. She did not chant slogans. She did not follow the script. Instead, she attended the world premiere of Melania at the Kennedy Center, has worked alongside President Trump on Trump Accounts, and openly calls herself his number one fan. She chose independence over approval, and Hollywood is punishing her for it.
During the Grammys, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/article/trevor-noah-grammys-nicki-minaj-kendrick-lamar-79ee508f2e15ec56b2b4826b787b6913">host Trevor Noah turned Minaj into a punchline</a>, joking that she was at the White House with Donald Trump. The audience laughed not because it was clever but because it signaled who was acceptable to mock.
<div id="attachment_1037301" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1037301" class="size-large wp-image-1037301" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958861-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 1: Trevor Noah at The 68th Annual Grammy Awards, broadcasting live Sunday, February 1, 2026 on the CBS Television Network, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+*. (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958861-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958861-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958861-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2258958861.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images</div>
The hostility did not stop there. At a MusiCares gala, Billy Porter publicly dropped an<a href="https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/markelibert/billy-porter-slams-nicki-minaj-trump-support"> F bomb</a> when asked about Minaj’s political views, declaring shame on her and others like her. In Hollywood, tolerance ends where independent thought begins.
The message was clear. You are free to speak as long as you agree.
Nicki Minaj did not see the light because Hollywood showed her anything new. She saw the truth Americans have known for years. The entertainment industry demands conformity not compassion. Obedience not courage.
Real Americans are tired of being lectured by people who will never pay the price for the policies they promote. They are tired of selective outrage, empty slogans, and celebrities who cry injustice while living lives untouched by its consequences.
The Grammys did not expose ICE. They exposed Hollywood.
And the more celebrities shout, the clearer it becomes. Americans are not rejecting compassion. They are rejecting hypocrisy.
* * *
Janiyah Thomas is a GOP strategist and former Black Media Director for President Trump’s 2024 campaign. She also contributed to the Trump Vance Inauguration media strategy and previously served as Media Relations Director for the Republican National Convention.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The Grammys Didn’t Expose ICE. It Exposed Hollywood Hypocrisy.

Donald Trump

Entertainment

Hollywood

Justin Bieber

Laken Riley

Nicki Minaj

Trevor Noah

Turning Point USA vowed to put on a show to rival the Super Bowl halftime show headlined by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unlike-bad-bunny-the-super-bowl-is-going-all-in-to-celebrate-america">Bad Bunny</a>, and they delivered in red, white, and blue.
The lineup for &#8220;The All-American Halftime Show&#8221; was announced Monday. Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett will take the stage in a show TPUSA says will celebrate faith, family, and freedom.
&#8220;We&#8217;re approaching this show like David and Goliath,&#8221; Kid Rock said in a statement, per <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/turning-point-usa-launches-rival-halftime-show-star-studded-lineup-nfl-faces-super-bowl-backlash">Fox News</a>. &#8220;Competing with the pro football machine and a global pop superstar is almost impossible, or is it? He said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish? Cool. We plan to play great songs for folks who love America.&#8221;
Kid Rock said on The Charlie Kirk Show on Monday that half of the United States is &#8220;underserved&#8221; entertainment-wise.
This show will air during Super Bowl LX&#8217;s official halftime show featuring Latin music star Bad Bunny, who won &#8220;Album of the Year&#8221; at the Grammys on Sunday. The singer&#8217;s selection has sparked significant backlash from many conservatives, including President Donald Trump. Bad Bunny has been critical of the Trump administration&#8217;s illegal immigrant crackdown and refused to tour in the United States last year because he said he didn&#8217;t want ICE raiding his concerts.
At the Grammys this past Sunday, Bad Bunny again criticized ICE.
&#8220;Before I say thanks to God, I&#8217;m going to say, &#8216;ICE out,'&#8221; Bad Bunny said.
Last fall, Trump took a jab at Bad Bunny, saying he didn&#8217;t know who the singer was after the NFL announced he would be performing at the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
&#8220;I don’t know who he is,&#8221; Trump told Newsmax. &#8220;I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.&#8221;
Trump definitely knows who Kid Rock is. The &#8220;Bawitdaba&#8221; singer is a close pal and golfing buddy of the president. Kid Rock also performed at the last Republican National Convention.
&#8220;The All-American Halftime Show&#8221; will allow viewers to be up close and personal with the performance, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet told Fox News Digital.
&#8220;&#8216;The All-American Halftime Show&#8217; is an opportunity for all Americans to enjoy a halftime show with no agenda other than to celebrate faith, family, and freedom,&#8221; Kolvet said. &#8220;We can’t wait to watch the incredible show they’re about to put on. We know millions around the country will be watching too.&#8221;
Barrett, who placed third on Season 16 of American Idol, recently sang at the White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
The star-studded show is expected to start around 8 p.m. ET on February 8. The Daily Wire will air the show on its platform. TPUSA will also stream the concert on its YouTube channel and X account.
Super Bowl LX is being held in Santa Clara, California, at Levi&#8217;s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
The battle between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots kicks off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Illustration by Daily Wire staff

Turning Point USA Unveils Star-Studded ‘All-American Halftime Show’ To Rival Super Bowl’s Bad Bunny

Turning Point USA Announces Star-Studded All-American Halftime Show Sunday

Halftime Show

Kid Rock

News

Super Bowl

TPUSA

Country star Jelly Roll responded to questions about current political controversies by saying he’d prefer to stay out of it &#8212; for now.
The 41-year-old celeb made the remarks at the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony, where he took home three trophies.
When asked about the topic of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the red carpet, Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, managed not to answer the question directly. “So I can tell you that people shouldn’t care to hear my opinion,” DeFord said. “You know, I’m a dumb redneck. I haven’t watched enough.” 
He went on to describe himself as “disconnected” from current events.
“I grew up in a house of, like, insane pandemonium. Like, I didn’t even know politics were f*cking real until I was in my mid-20s in jail. Like, that’s how disconnected &#8230; when you grew up in a drug addict household,” he went on. “You think we, like, had common calls about what’s happening in rural politics? Like, we’re just trying to find a way to survive, man.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="JELLY ROLL Backstage Interview | 2026 GRAMMYs" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CB-G_6vTQ4k?start=486&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
DeFord did promise he’d “have a lot to say about” ICE on social media in the coming days and told fans they would get his thoughts “loud and clear.”
The “Need a Favor” singer also spoke openly about his Christian faith during his Grammys acceptance speech. 
&#8220;They&#8217;re going to try to kick me off here, so just let me try to get this out. First of all, Jesus, I hear you, and I&#8217;m listening. Lord, I am listening, Lord. Second of all, I want to thank my beautiful wife. I would have never changed my life without you,” Jelly Roll said while becoming emotional. “I would have ended up dead or in jail. I would have killed myself if it wasn&#8217;t for you and Jesus. I thank you for that.”
“There was a time in my life, y&#8217;all, that I was broken. That&#8217;s why I wrote this album. I didn&#8217;t think I had a chance, y&#8217;all,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There was days that I thought the darkest things. I was a horrible human.&#8221;
&#8220;There was a moment in my life that all I had was a Bible this big, and a radio the same size, and a six-by-eight-foot cell,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And I believe that those two things could change my life. I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life.&#8221;
While Jelly Roll didn’t take a stance on ICE, there were several celebrities at the Grammys who did, opting to wear “ICE OUT” buttons with their outfits. Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Bieber sported the buttons, as did Billie Eilish, Kehlani, Samara Joy, Joni Mitchell, and Jack Antonoff.
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny devoted his Grammys acceptance speech to protest ICE enforcing immigration laws.

Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll Breaks Rank, Doesn’t Criticize ICE At Grammys

Jelly Roll Breaks Rank, Doesn't Criticize ICE At Grammys

Grammys

U.S.

As thousands of Nashville residents in Davidson County remain in the cold and dark without power as single-digit temperatures fast approach this weekend, many, including country star John Rich, are now wondering what went wrong. Friday will be day six without power for 71,000 Nashville Electric Service (NES) customers after Winter Storm Fern.
The singer, who cofounded the duo Big &amp; Rich, said what&#8217;s happening in Nashville is &#8220;very California.&#8221;
&#8220;This is incompetence on a level kind of like what you saw in California when they didn&#8217;t have enough water to put out the fires,&#8221; Rich said on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388545727112">Fox News</a> Friday morning.
California had fire hydrants running dry during the devastating wildfires in 2025, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-12-17/la-fires-water-system">reported</a>. For many, that failure fell squarely on California leadership.
NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said last August she was focused on saving Nashville&#8217;s tree &#8220;canopy&#8221; instead of trimming trees that were too close to power lines. Yet another example of leadership failure as Davidson County continues to have the highest power <a href="https://poweroutage.us/area/state/tennessee">outages</a> in the state.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-electric-ceo-touted-tree-hugging-over-aggressive-trimming-months-before-massive-ice-storm">Nashville Electric CEO Touted Tree-Hugging Over Aggressive Trimming Months Before Massive Ice Storm</a>
Rich made it clear during his interview that he is thankful to the lineman working to help restore power. His anger is directed at Nashville&#8217;s Democratic mayor, Freddie O&#8217;Connell.
&#8220;We have a mayor here in Nashville, a hard-core leftist guy, and they&#8217;ve decided that they aren&#8217;t going to do any interviews or press conferences through the weekend as the temperatures go down to four and five degrees,&#8221; Rich said.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve just reminded a lot of my Democrat friends &#8230; I said, well, &#8216;You get what you vote for here in Nashville. Maybe next time you put some people in office who actually think ahead.'&#8221;
NES said Friday morning that more than 1,000 linemen are working to restore power for more than 70,000 households still in the cold and dark. To put it in perspective, Duke Energy deployed 18,000 crew members to respond to power outages in <a href="https://wlos.com/news/local/winter-ice-storm-looms-duke-energy-deploys-18000-crews-100-trucks-asheville-western-north-carolina-safety-power-electricity-heating-technology-community-hurricane-helene-grid">North Carolina</a>, bringing in linemen from as far as Canada.
An anonymous member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union told <a href="https://fox17.com/news/local/nashville-electric-service-accused-of-rejecting-help-amid-massive-power-outages-nes-winter-storm-middle-tennessee-union-memebers">Fox 17</a> in Nashville that, at a minimum, NES should have 2,000 crew members working to restore power.
NES was pressed on Thursday about the number of linemen working while other cities with fewer outages have larger crews.
&#8220;This storm is different,&#8221; NES Executive Vice President Brent Baker said. &#8220;This ice storm is significant. This is the most people NES has ever onboarded onto the system. This storm was bigger than what was even expected &#8230; Nashville was slammed. Poles were broken like toothpicks. Trees exploded, landing on top of our infrastructure, on top of the wires.&#8221;
The Daily Wire has reached out to NES for an estimate of when power will be restored.

Credit: Jason Kempin via Getty Images

Country Star Compares Nashville Power Outage Fiasco To California’s Awful Wildfire Response

Country Star Compares Nashville Power Outage Fiasco To California's Abysmal Wildfire Response

John Rich

Nashville

Winter Storm Fern

Country rock singer Kid Rock headed to Capitol Hill yesterday to testify on the topic of skyrocketing concert ticket prices and the role corporations and scammers play in it. As he <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/01/28/blackburn-live-nation-ticket-bots-hearing">put it</a>, “music fans and artists have been getting screwed by the ticketing system.&#8221;
Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing led by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was titled: “Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry.”
“I’m in a unique position to testify, because unlike most of my peers, I am beholden to no one, no record companies, no managers, no corporate endorsements or deals,” Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, told the committee. “To put it plainly, I ain’t scared, like many artists, managers and agents are, for fear of biting the hand that feeds them.”
He brought up how Live Nation and Ticketmaster merging was pitched as a benefit for artists and fans, but claimed the opposite has proven true.
“Let’s be clear—this is far from a new problem,” Ritchie said. “Thirty years ago, members of the rock band Pearl Jam sat in these same seats, warning Congress about ticketing abuse. In 2009, Congress was told—under oath—that merging Live Nation and Ticketmaster would benefit artists and fans.”
“The economic foundation that supported artists in the past is crumbling. Piracy is threatening their livelihood. Secondary ticketing is driving up prices for the fans with absolutely no benefit to the artist,” the singer continued, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/kid-rock-congress-ticketing-live-nation-ticketmaster-1236487577/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. “Needless to say, that experiment has failed miserably. Independent venues have been crushed. Artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it.”
Kid Rock said there are “mountains of fraud” waiting to be discovered and suggested solutions including allowing performers to set their own prices and capping resale prices, to name a few. He also drew attention to bots that buy up large amounts of concert tickets to resell. Ritchie mentioned that the proposed reforms so far haven’t gone far enough.
“The problem is the ticketing lobbyists push these reforms as cover while fighting to keep tickets in an open market and let them exploit fans under the guise of capitalism,” Ritchie said.
Last year, the Senate Commerce Committee introduced the TICKET Act, a bipartisan bill which would require the total fees for an event ticket to be displayed clearly in advance. The bill passed the House in April, but has not yet passed the Senate.

Kid Rock Tells Congress That Concert Ticket Prices Are Out Of Control

concert

Congress

Marsha Blackburn

Ticketmaster

Leftist rock icon Bruce Springsteen is out with a new “protest song” attacking ICE&#8217;s presence in Minneapolis, and the lyrics are just as cringeworthy as expected.
The 76-year-old New Jersey native said he wrote the song last weekend and recorded it soon after. 
“I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis,” Springsteen said in a statement, per <a href="https://variety.com/2026/music/news/bruce-springsteen-streets-of-minneapolis-ice-protest-song-1236643538/">Variety</a>. “It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free, Bruce Springsteen.”
The song, titled &#8220;Streets of Minneapolis,&#8221; is part acoustic and includes moments meant for the crowd to chime in, such as the lyric: “ICE out of Minneapolis.”
The song describes “a city aflame fought fire and ice/ &#8216;Neath an occupier&#8217;s boots/ King Trump&#8217;s private army from the DHS/ Guns belted to their coats.”
“Against smoke and rubber bullets/ In the dawn&#8217;s early light/ Citizens stood for justice,” the protest song continues. “Their voices ringing through the night/ And there were bloody footprints/ Where mercy should have stood/ And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets/ Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”
The chorus is just as literal and full of anti-ICE propaganda. 
“Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice/ Singing through the bloody mist/ We&#8217;ll take our stand for this land/ And the stranger in our midst,” the song says. “Here in our home, they killed and roamed/ In the winter of &#8217;26/ We&#8217;ll remember the names of those who died/ On the streets of Minneapolis.”
The next stanza describes “Trump&#8217;s federal thugs” killing Alex Pretti. “Their claim was self-defense, sir/ Just don&#8217;t believe your eyes,” Springsteen’s song says.  “It&#8217;s our blood and bones/ And these whistles and phones/ Against Miller and Noem&#8217;s dirty lies.”
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The concluding verse discusses how “they trample on our rights/ If your skin is black or brown, my friend/ You can be questioned or deported on sight.”
Reactions to the song have been mixed on social media. While the official audio version on YouTube has several positive comments, there are many critical reactions on X.
“Bruce used to be great, focusing on the blue collar working class. Now he&#8217;s a hack desperately trying to stay relevant by inserting himself into politics,” one response <a href="https://x.com/Paul_Schatz/status/2016617091592237426">said</a>. 
“Ironic coming from the ‘Born in the USA’ guy but ok,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/floridabadboy69/status/2016639945515913355">quipped</a>.

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen Releases Cringe Protest Song About Minneapolis

Anti-ICE

Celebrities

Minneapolis

Roma Daravi, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Kennedy Center, responded to composer Philip Glass&#8217;s cancellation of his latest symphony at the storied arts institution. 
“We have no place for politics in the arts, and those calling for boycotts based on politics are making the wrong decision,” Daravi told The Daily Wire. “We have not canceled a single show. Leftist activists are pushing artists to cancel but the public wants artists to perform and create—not cancel under pressure from political insiders that benefit from creating division.”
Daravi, the center&#8217;s vice president of public relations, said that they have not canceled any shows and that the center&#8217;s aim is unity and celebration of the arts. 
The statement comes after composer Philip Glass made headlines for calling off the premiere of his new symphony, “Lincoln,” which the National Symphony Orchestra was scheduled to perform in June. 
&#8220;Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony,&#8221; Glass said in a statement posted to X on Tuesday. &#8220;Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/v8rHPl2rJT">pic.twitter.com/v8rHPl2rJT</a>
— Philip Glass (@philipglass) <a href="https://twitter.com/philipglass/status/2016179940815761860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Kennedy Center board voted unanimously in December to rename the Washington, D.C., performing arts venue The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, which caused an uproar among leftists.
Before and after the name change, several artists have canceled their appearances at the center. A run of the musical &#8220;Hamilton&#8221; was canceled, and actress Issa Rae also called off her show. Jazz musician Chuck Redd was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-kennedy-center-hits-musician-with-1m-lawsuit-for-anti-trump-political-stunt">criticized</a> for canceling his Christmas Eve performance days before it was supposed to take place. The center said they would seek $1 million in damages for the abrupt cancellation, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-kennedy-center-hits-musician-with-1m-lawsuit-for-anti-trump-political-stunt">reported</a>.
In early 2025, President Trump ousted the Board of Trustees, named himself Chairman of the Board, and appointed Richard Grenell as interim executive director. Trump wrote at the time, “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”

Trump Kennedy Center

Trump-Kennedy Center Reacts To Latest Cancellation: ‘No Place For Politics In The Arts’

Trump-Kennedy Center Reacts To Latest Cancellation: 'No Place For Politics In The Arts'

Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center

Washington D.C.

President Trump confirmed he’s not attending the Super Bowl this year, complaining about the slate of performers and saying it ultimately came down to the distance he’d have to travel.
Trump told The New York Post during an Oval Office <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/24/us-news/trump-tells-the-post-hes-skipping-the-super-bowl-slams-halftime-performers-bad-bunny-and-green-day/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_sf_cserv_ref=17469289&amp;utm_sf_post_ref=658557296&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_medium=social">interview</a> that he wasn’t pleased with the selection of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny for the halftime show, or with the addition of Green Day for the opening ceremony. Both bands have made statements against the Trump administration and their policies.
“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” the president said. He also noted that his reason for skipping was that the Super Bowl is being played this year in California.
“It’s just too far away. I would. I’ve [gotten] great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me,” Trump told NY Post. “I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter.”
Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl while in office last year when he watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. That game took place in New Orleans.
Trump already said it was “absolutely ridiculous” that Bad Bunny was selected to perform at Super Bowl LX this year.
“This guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer and a lot of folks don’t even know who he is,” Newsmax’s Greg Kelly said during a phone interview in October, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-absolutely-ridiculous-that-nfl-chose-bad-bunny-for-super-bowl-halftime-show">reported</a>. Kelly asked Trump if people should “entertain blowing off the NFL.”
“I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy, and then they blame it on some promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Trump added.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Ocasio, had already said he refused to perform in the United States due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers doing their jobs and enforcing federal immigration laws.
Ocasio referred to ICE agents as “motherf***ers” and “sons of b****es” in a video he posted to Instagram.
The three-time Grammy Award-winner said during an interview that he didn’t book any tour stops in the United States because he was worried ICE agents would target concert attendees.
“There was the issue of — like, f***ing ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Social media users also pointed out that none of Bad Bunny’s songs are in English. He later addressed the backlash he and the NFL received following the announcement, advising viewers to learn Spanish if they didn’t like it.

Trump Says He’s Skipping Super Bowl, Slams ‘Terrible’ Halftime Act

Trump Says He's Skipping Super Bowl, Slams 'Terrible' Halftime Act

Football

Kyle Gass, the less-famous half of the rock duo Tenacious D, admits that joking onstage about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in 2024 was a bad idea.
The 65-year-old singer, whose bandmate is actor Jack Black, said he made a mistake, speaking in a newly published Rolling Stone <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tenacious-d-kyle-gass-jack-black-donald-trump-interview-1235501791/">interview</a> tied to the promotion of his upcoming live album.
“It was terrible. It was terrible judgment, obviously,” he said of the incident, which happened in July 2024 shortly after an attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “I was naive, of course… I thought I was safe in the bubble.”
His controversial remarks came as Gass was presented with the opportunity to make a birthday wish while performing in Australia. He replied in front of the assembled crowd, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
Gass says that he’s “felt terrible ever since, because it’s such a responsibility to not screw up like that.” He said he didn’t realize how bad things would get.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” he said of the aftermath. “It’s one of those things, once it was picked up, it just got worse and worse. It was a Defcon 2 for sure in the camp. And I did it. It was hard to take responsibility for it, but it was my f***-up. When you’re in it, it’s hard to even think straight. It’s just this thing flooding and coming at you. We had to take the break. And I got it. Jack has this magnificent career; I can’t even count the franchises now. So as hard as it was, I just had to take the long ride home.”
“I really wasn’t thinking straight through it,” Gass told Rolling Stone. “It is serious business. You never want to fan those flames or be snarky about it. And I touched the stove. But at the time, I was trying to make the band laugh. Trying to be a little outrageous. I wasn’t overthinking it — obviously.”
After the incident went viral, Black canceled the rest of the tour and distanced himself from his singing partner, saying he was “blindsided” by the remarks. But now Gass says he and Black have &#8220;hashed it out&#8221; and will reunite.

Kyle Gass

Tenacious D Singer Admits Onstage Joke About Trump Assassination Attempt Was A Mistake

Jack Black

Outspoken leftist Bruce Springsteen repeated tired anti-ICE talking points during an unplanned concert Saturday night.
The 76-year-old recording artist dedicated his performance of “The Promised Land” to “murdered” activist Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis last week after she drove her SUV toward the agent during a confrontation with federal law enforcement.
“Now, right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States, the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years, is being tested as it has never been in modern times. Those values and those ideals have never been as endangered as they are right now,” Springsteen spouted from the stage, as first <a href="https://www.njarts.net/springsteen-criticizes-ice-dedicates-the-promised-land-to-renee-good-at-light-of-day-show/">reported</a> by NJ Arts.
He continued, “So as we gather tonight in this beautiful display of love and care and thoughtfulness and community … if you believe in democracy, in liberty… if you believe that truth still matters, and that it’s worth speaking out, and it’s worth fighting for … if you believe in the power of the law and that no one stands above it … if you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading American cities, and using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens … if you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest … then send a message to this president.”
Springsteen said that the message was the same as Mayor Jacob Frey previously stated, that “ICE should get the f*** out of Minneapolis. So this one is for you, and the memory of the mother of three and American citizen Renee Good.”
Good, a 37-year-old activist, confronted immigration officials working in Minneapolis on January 7. After immigration agents requested she exit her vehicle, she backed up and pulled forward in the direction of ICE agent Jonathan Ross, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ice-agent-struck-by-renee-goods-vehicle-suffered-internal-bleeding-from-incident-dhs-says">reported</a>. 
As Good’s vehicle accelerated into Ross, he fired three defense shots at Good, saving his life and the lives of other officers, according to the DHS. While the left tried to frame the narrative as Good fleeing the scene peacefully, it was later revealed that Ross suffered internal bleeding from the incident.
Springsteen has been an outspoken critic of Trump and conservatives for years, often using the stage to convey political messaging. Last year, his tirades were met with criticism from fans who were just coming out to hear some music.
“Bruce Springsteen has completely lost his mind,” one commenter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nobody-cares-bruce-springsteen-mocked-for-tirade-against-trump?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Nobody+Cares%E2%80%99%3A+Bruce+Springsteen+Mocked+For+Tirade+Against+Trump">wrote at the time</a>. “He goes full MSNBC instead of just playing the music people were there to hear. Entertainers are such narcissists.”

Bruce Springsteen Fans The Flames, Smears ICE As ‘Gestapo’

Bruce Springsteen Fans The Flames, Smears ICE As 'Gestapo'

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Bob Weir, who co-founded the Grateful Dead and helped introduce new generations to the band at the end of a virtuosic career, died Saturday following a brief battle with cancer. He was 78.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir,” the guitarist’s family wrote in a <a href="http://bobweir.net/bobby/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> posted on his website. “He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could.”
&#8220;A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead,” the statement continues, “Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music.&#8221;
Fans were shocked to learn that Weir received his cancer diagnosis in July and began treatment just before performing in a series of shows to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Grateful Dead in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
His final performance with the band was, fittingly, “Touch of Grey,” a 1987 song about coming to terms with growing old that marked the Grateful Dead’s only appearance on the Billboard Hot 100.
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The youngest member of the band’s founding lineup, Weir was known for his fierce stage presence and baritone voice, which served as counterpoints to frontman Jerry Garcia’s hippie tenor.
Like the band’s founding bassist, Phil Lesh, who died in October 2024, Weir was known for his unique style of rhythmic playing, which served as the driving pulse of the Dead’s famous jams. Bob Dylan <a href="https://x.com/rayfp/status/2010148337161515062?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Weir “a very unorthodox rhythm player” who “plays strange, augmented chords and half chords at unpredictable intervals that somehow match up with Jerry Garcia.”
Weir, whose voice even casual Dead fans will recognize from the verses of “Truckin’,” wrote or co-wrote many of the Grateful Dead’s most popular songs, including “Sugar Magnolia,” “Jack Straw,” “Mexicali Blues,” and “Playing in the Band.” Known affectionately to friends and fans alike as “Bobby,” Weir is survived by his wife, Natascha, and their two daughters, Monet and Chloe.
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Born Robert Hall Parber in San Francisco on October 16, 1947, Weir was adopted by Frederic and Eleanor Weir shortly after birth.
Weir met a 21-year-old Jerry Garcia on New Year’s Eve 1963, when Weir was just 16. The pair joined with Lesh, drummer Bill Kreutzmann, and pianist Ron &#8220;Pigpen&#8221; McKernan to form the Grateful Dead in 1965. He remained with the band until they disbanded following Garcia’s death in 1995.
Like Garcia, Weir had a prolific musical career outside the Dead. In the early 1980s he formed Bobby and the Midnites, a band packed with jazz veterans that blended jazz, rock, and power pop in two albums and legendary live shows.
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In 1998, Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart formed The Other Ones, which continued the Dead’s legacy of improvisation-driven live shows. Weir partnered with Lesh again in 2009 to form Furthur, a psychedelic jam band that was active until 2014. From 1995 until 2014, Weir was also the frontman for RatDog, his primary post-Dead vehicle.
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In 2015, Weir launched his most enduring side project, which wasn’t really a side project at all. Weir met John Mayer, then a nascent Deadhead, at Capitol Studios that winter. A few weeks later, when Mayer was slated to guest-host The Late Late Show on CBS, he invited Weir to join as the musical guest. The two first played together during a <a href="https://relix.com/articles/detail/dead-and-company-the-origin-story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">now-legendary soundcheck</a> that lasted more than two hours and inspired the pair to launch Dead &amp; Company.
The revival act, which featured Mayer in Garcia’s place, brought Weir back together with drummers Hart and Kreutzmann, along with Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. Dead &amp; Company played more than 200 shows over its 10-year run, including two residencies at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
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Though Mayer and Weir conceived of it as its own entity, Dead &amp; Company continued the Grateful Dead’s tradition of live jams and brought their catalogue and the Deadhead culture to a new generation of fans.
Tributes to Weir are pouring in from all corners of the globe, a testament to his and the Dead’s wide-reaching appeal.
“Rest in Peace Bob Weir. Thank you for all the years of support in the environment wars and thank you for your friendship,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy posted, along with a picture of him with Weir.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rest in Peace Bob Weir. Thank you for all the years of support in the environment wars and thank you for your friendship.
“Fare-thee-well now 
Let your life proceed by its own design 
Nothing to tell now 
Let the words be yours, I&#8217;m done with mine” <a href="https://t.co/MqD0w9BWGj">pic.twitter.com/MqD0w9BWGj</a>
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/2010394988287558063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“Mostly, he just loved playing, and I loved that about him,” Phish frontman Trey Anastasio wrote on Instagram. “I don’t think he ever got caught up in the bigness. I don&#8217;t think it meant anything to him. There were times when I was talking to him when I thought he was the last actual hippie.”
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Daily Wire host Michael Knowles chipped in with a rendition of &#8220;Sugar Magnolia&#8221; on his ukulele, adding only, &#8220;RIP, Bob Weir.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
RIP, Bob Weir! <a href="https://t.co/yoBtdAmn5D">pic.twitter.com/yoBtdAmn5D</a>
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeljknowles/status/2010170307345297488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Though fans remained unaware of Weir’s failing health, the guitarist reflected on mortality in a March <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bobby-weir-grateful-dead-company-interview-1235290296/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Rolling Stone.
“I’ll say this: I look forward to dying. I tend to think of death as the last and best reward for a life well-lived. That’s it,” Weir said. “I’ve still got a lot on my plate, and I won’t be ready to go for a while.”

2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year Honoring The Grateful Dead – Inside

Bob Weir, Grateful Dead Co-Founder Who Birthed A New Generation Of Fans, Dead At 78

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