5 LGBTQ+ moments that defined the 2026 Grammys
From Lady Gaga’s big wins to Billie Eilish’s anti-ICE speech, here are the defining moments from the 2026 Grammy awards. (Getty)
From jaw-dropping red carpet looks to major award wins, the 2026 Grammy awards were a sizeable success for queer musicians everywhere.
Huge queer stars including Lady Gaga and Lola Young won some of the night’s biggest accolades, while other LGBTQ+ musicians used the night of glitz and glamour to spotlight and call out US president Donald Trump’s ongoing ICE occupation.
Elsewhere, Nicki Minaj got a ribbing for cozying up to Trump, while Chappell Roan’s nod to freeing the nipple got the internet talking.
Here are five LGBTQ+ moments that defined the 2026 Grammy awards.
Queer artists win big
The music industry is built on the talent of LGBTQ+ people, and the 2026 Grammys proved as such, with swathes of this year’s winners identifying as queer.
Lady Gaga bagged three awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album for her bombastic 2025 record Mayhem and Best Dance-Pop Recording for “Abracadabra”, while Billie Eilish won the coveted Song of the Year accolade for her 2024 ballad “Wildflower”. Eilish and her brother and co-writer FINNEAS became the first songwriters to win three times in the category.
Brits Lola Young and Yungblug won their first Grammy awards, with Young’s 2024 song “Messy” being named the Best Pop Solo Performance and Yungblud’s song “Changes” winning in the Best Rock Performance category.
Kehlani’s “Folded” won in both the Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song categories, while Cynthia Erivo and Doechii won their second Grammys; Erivo in the Best pop Duo/Group Performance for “Defying Gravity” with Ariana Grande, and Doechii for Best Music Video.
Chappell Roan’s wild red carpet moment
Pop provocateur and “Good Luck, Babe!” singer Chappell Roan took the Grammys 2026 red carpet by storm, arriving in a custom crimson sheer dress by Miguel Castro Freitas for Mugler.
The chiffon look was draped around the lower half of her body, and appeared to be held up by a neckline that was attached to her nipple rings.
The striking piece, which harked back to Mugler’s Spring/Summer 1998 couture nipple piercing garment, was complete with simple matching underwear and black shoes, plus her signature copper red hair and a flurry of temporary tattoos.
Billie Eilish, Kehlani and more call out ICE
The crackdown on immigration in the US, led by Donald Trump’s administration, provided an uneasy undertone to the Grammy’s usual glitz. Musicians including SZA, Olivia Dean, and Bad Bunny, whose album Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year, spoke out against anti-immigrant sentiment and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Artists including Justin Bieber and Joni Mitchell attended donning ‘ICE Out’ pins.
After winning the Song of the Year accolade for “Wildflower”, Billie Eilish took to the stage alongside her brother FINNEAS, both wearing ‘ICE Out’ badges. After shouting out the other artists nominated in the category, Eilish took a moment to condemn Trump’s anti-immigration push.
“No one is illegal on stolen land. It’s just really hard to know what to do and what to do right now,” she said, to a rapturous audience response. She continued by urging her fellow artists to speak up.
“I feel really hopeful in this room and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, the people matter,” she said, before rounding off with a message that was bleeped out. It has since been confirmed that Eilish said “f**k ICE,” again to cheers from the crowd.
Eilish wasn’t the only artist to offer an expletive to ICE, which has come under increasing scrutiny following the shootings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good.
After winning the Best R&B Performance accolade for “Folded”, Kehlani rounded off their speech by urging the room to “speak out against what’s going on” in the US.
“What I wanna make sure that I say is that everybody is so powerful in this room and in this room later and together we’re stronger in numbers to speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now,” she said.
“So instead of letting it be just a couple of you here and there, I hope everybody is inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on. And I’m going to leave this and say, f*** ICE.”
Durand Bernarr’s acceptance speech brings tears of joy
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr won his first ever Grammy Award, taking home the Best Progressive R&B Album accolade for his 2025 record, BLOOM. The queer artist, who released his first mixtape almost 20 years ago, took to the stage to urge his fellow “butch queens” to be who they are.
Leaping onto the stage, an aghast and breathless Bernarr declared: “Happy Black History Month for the rest of my life!
“Listen, I wanna remind everyone that we are all we got, and we know who I’m referring to. So please give yourself some grace and extend your kindness to your neighbour who needs it, OK?”
He then thanked the Recording Academy – via an impressive musical note – and his parents, for “loving [him] and supporting [him] in ways that will last me 10,000 lifetimes”.
He also thanked his team who helped “guide [him] forward,” before knowingly adding: “Never straight!”
His mother and father then joined him on stage, embraced him and yelped with joy, before Bernarr added: “One last thing. To all the independent artists out there, and to every butch queen who was made to feel like you was too much, I’m the proof that you needed and the sign that you’ve been waiting for. Be yourself! And speaking of yourself, I want to thank myself, because this was some hard work, y’all!’
Nicki Minaj gets a roasting
Controversial rapper Nicki Minaj became a hot talking point early on at the 2026 Grammy ceremony after host Trevor Noah mocked her recent meeting with Donald Trump at the Treasury Department summit last week.
“John Legend! Billie Eilish! Finneas!,” Noah shouted at the camera during his opening monologue, celebrating artists who were in attendance. “Nicki Minaj is not here,” he continued, to a loud response from the audience. “She is still at the White House with Donald Trump, discussing very important issues.”
“Actually Nicki, I have the biggest a**,” he jested, putting on an impressive Trump impersonation. “Everybody’s saying it Nicki. I know they say it’s you, but it’s me. WAP WAP WAP, look at it. Look at it, baby.”
Minaj, who recently declared herself as Trump’s “number one fan”, was at home on Grammy night, posting on X, formerly Twitter, about the ceremony.
The 12-time Grammy nominee – who has never won – responded to Noah’s joke with an eye-roll-worthy comment about Noah’s sexuality.
“Trevor refuses to come out the closet when everyone in the industry knows his boyfriend. Allegedly,” she wrote.
Minaj has become known in recent months for her growing list of anti-LGBTQ+ remarks, which has included using a homophobic slur against journalist Don Lemon and mocking California governor Gavin Newsom’s support for trans youth.
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