Excerpt: Billie Eilish clinches Song of the Year at the 2026 Grammys and delivers a charged speech condemning ICE and injustice in America.
American pop star Billie Eilish has won the Song of the Year award at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards for her hit single Wildflower, using her acceptance speech to issue a strong political statement against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The award was presented on February 1, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where Eilish beat a competitive field including Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra, Doechii’s Anxiety, ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’ APT, Bad Bunny’s DtMF, HUNTR/X’s Golden, Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA’s Luther, and Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild.
Appearing on stage with her brother and co-writer Finneas O’Connell, Eilish thanked the Recording Academy before shifting to a broader social message. She said, “No one is illegal on stolen land.”
She continued during her speech, “It’s just really hard to know what to say, and what to do right now. I just feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting, speaking up, and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter. ‘F-k ICE’ is all I want to say. Sorry.”
The remarks followed days of activism from the singer, who has been vocal about immigration enforcement and the death of Alex Pretti, an American citizen shot and killed by ICE agents in January. Eilish shared posts about the incident across her Instagram Stories and urged other celebrities to speak up.
She also reposted a video from Finneas O’Connell addressing the government narrative surrounding Pretti’s death. In the clip, O’Connell said, “The conservative argument that allows school shootings to continue has always basically boiled down to, ‘We have to protect the Second Amendment.’ Every argument I’ve seen for why Alex Pretti’s death was justified yesterday is like, ‘Well, he had a gun.’ Shut the f-k up! This guy was being beaten to a pulp on the ground. He didn’t draw his weapon. He had a weapon on him legally. And they still shot the f-k out of him!”
Last month, while accepting the 2026 MLK Jr. Beloved Community Award for Environmental Justice for her Changemaker Program, Eilish again criticised government priorities. She said, “We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped, peaceful protesters being assaulted and murdered, our civil rights being stripped, resources to fight the climate crisis being cut for fossil fuels and animal agriculture destroying our planet, and people’s access to food and healthcare becoming a privilege for the wealthy instead of a new basic human right for all Americans.”
She added, “It is very clear that protecting our planet and our communities is not a priority for this administration. And it’s really hard to celebrate that when we no longer feel safe in our own homes or in our streets.”
Written by Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, Wildflower is the fourth single from her third studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft. The track debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed on the chart for 72 weeks, and achieved quadruple platinum certification in the United States, Canada and Australia.
The song also ranked as the ninth most streamed globally on Apple Music and the 10th most streamed on Spotify for 2025, strengthening its commercial success ahead of the Grammy win.
With the victory, Eilish’s total Grammy count rises to 10 awards from 34 career nominations, further cementing her position among the most influential pop artists of her generation.
As the Grammys continue to spotlight global music excellence, Eilish’s Song of the Year moment stood out not only for its artistic recognition, but also for the political message delivered from one of the industry’s biggest stages.
Ademide Adebayo
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