Alicia Keys appeared to call out President Donald Trump’s efforts to nix diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as she accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 2025 Grammys ceremony on Sunday.
“DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift,” the musician said at one point during her acceptance speech, prompting applause from the audience.
“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” urged Keys.
“We’ve seen on this stage, talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat — it’s a gift,” she said.
“The more voices, the more powerful the sound,” Keys added. “When destructive forces try to burn us down, we rise from the ashes like a phoenix and as you see tonight, music is the unstoppable language that connects us all, it’s so beautiful.”
Keys did not mention by name Trump, who in recent days has drawn fierce blowback for trying to blame DEI for last week’s deadly American Airlines plane crash in Washington, D.C.
But the singer-songwriter has previously criticized the returned president and even used her performance at the 2020 awards to call for his removal from office.