White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized celebrities who condemned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arguing they benefit from private security while attacking federal agents. Her remarks came after anti-ICE messaging appeared at the 2026 Grammy Awards and at the Sundance Film Festival.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized entertainers who have denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Leavitt said it was “very ironic” and “sad” to see celebrities — whom she described as living in gated communities with private security — “demonize” federal law enforcement officers.
“It’s very ironic and, frankly, sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities with private security, with millions of dollars to spend protecting themselves, trying to just demonize law enforcement public servants who work for the U.S. government to enforce our nation’s laws,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt also argued that Hollywood figures had been quiet about border security during the previous administration. In the same exchange, she referenced Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Riley, saying the two were harmed by people who “should’ve never been in our country in the first place.”
Her comments followed several high-profile entertainment events where performers and attendees displayed anti-ICE messages.
At the 2026 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, multiple artists were photographed wearing black-and-white “ICE OUT” pins, including Justin and Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Kehlani, Samara Joy, Joni Mitchell, and Jack Antonoff.
Bad Bunny used his acceptance speech to criticize ICE, drawing applause from the crowd. “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE out,” he said. He added: “We are not savage. We are not animals. We are not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.”
At the Sundance Film Festival in late January, actress Olivia Wilde also criticized ICE while speaking about ongoing violence tied to recent events in Minneapolis. Wilde said, “We can’t go another day … accepting this as our new norm,” and called ICE a “criminal organization,” urging support for efforts to “cast ICE out” and “delegitimize” it.
Other celebrity protests cited by The Daily Wire included actor Peter Dinklage reciting a poem dedicated to Renée Good, described as an anti-ICE activist who was killed by an ICE agent during an altercation in Minneapolis. The outlet also reported that Bruce Springsteen released a protest song referencing Minneapolis that includes the lyric “ICE out of Minneapolis.”
Independent reporting has confirmed the presence of the “ICE OUT” pins and Bad Bunny’s remarks at the Grammys, as well as Wilde’s Sundance comments. Details surrounding other claims — including the circumstances of Renée Good’s death and the accounts of related incidents — have been reported inconsistently across outlets and were not independently verified in all cases.
