Doechii Addresses the Los Angeles Protests During Her BET Awards Acceptance Speech
After stunning on the red carpet in a Miu Miu set and cascading braids, the rapper won the first award of the evening, for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. At the mic, she took the time to acknowledge the current protests against the ICE immigration raids in Los Angeles.
She started off her speech by thanking BET and shouting out her fellow nominees, which included GloRilla, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Sexyy Red, and Rapsody, before turning the spotlight elsewhere. 'As much as I'm honored by this award,' she said, 'I do want to address what's happening right now outside of the building.' (The BET Awards took place at L.A.'s Peacock Theater).
'There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order,' she continued. 'Trump is using military forces to stop a protest. And I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that?'
She ended the speech by reflecting on using her platform. 'I feel it's my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people: for Black people, for Latino people, for Trans people, for the people in Gaza.'
Read her full speech below:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
35 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Hundreds rally on July 4 against immigration raids, budget bill in downtown L.A.
Lawrence Herrera started carrying a folded-up copy of his birth certificate in his wallet last week. He also saved a picture of his passport on his phone's camera roll. For the 67-year-old Atwater Village resident who was born and raised here, the precaution felt silly. But he's not taking any chances. 'I started hearing, 'He's taking anyone and everyone,'' Herrara said, referrring to President Trump's immigration crackdown. 'I thought, 'You know what? That could be me.'' Herrera was one of hundreds of protesters who spent Fourth of July in downtown Los Angeles to rally against the immigration raids that have roiled the region and the surge in federal funding approved this week to keep them going. Many on the street said they were skipping the barbecues and fireworks this year. Instead, they showed up at City Hall, some in costumes or wrapped in flags. A15-foot balloon of President Trump in Russian military uniform sat in Grand Park. Erica Ortiz, 49, was dressed as Lady Liberty in shackles. Herrera wore a Revolutionary War outfit covered in anti-Trump pins that he said was appropriate for the occasion. 'Guess what? We have no independence right now,' he said. 'That's why we're out here.' They marched through Olvera Street and outside the Federal Building, which houses the immigration court, waving signs. Several police officers were monitoring the protest but kept their distance during the gathering, which lasted a few hours. 'No more occupation! No more deportation!' the protesters chanted. At the federal building, military members lined up shoulder-to-shoulder guarding the property with shields and guns. Jacob Moreno, an English teacher from Rialto, held a sign that called the day a 'funeral for the freedom we pretend' still exists. He said the mood felt more solemn than the 'No Kings' demonstration last month, which he attributed to the passage of Trump's budget bill. The so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' adds roughly $150 billion to carry out mass deportations and fund border enforcement. 'This situation, this occupation is only going to get worse,' Moreno said. The 50-year-old said some of his high school students and their family members are undocumented. He and his daughter, a 16-year-old student, are helping set up a program to provide school supplies and hygiene items to students whose parents may be too afraid to go to work. 'I'm here to support my students, my community, and ultimately to stand on the right side of history,' he said. Cristina Muñoz Brown, of North Hollywood, shared a similar sentiment. 'I'm desperate for my people, I'm desperate to show up,' she said. Since the raids began, she said, the Fashion District where she works in the costume industry is a 'ghost town.' Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) addressed the crowd outside City Hall, calling the budget bill the 'Big Beautiful Scam.' 'Immigration spending in this country is now more than the military spending of 165 countries around the world. ICE has more money than the city of Los Angeles ten times over,' he said, as the crowd booed. 'That's not what we want our tax dollars going towards.' The city is still reeling from weeks of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the Southland and the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to respond to the protests that followed. There have been sweeps at local car washes and Home Depot parking lots targeting day laborers. 'There's too many things to protest right now,' said Hunter Dunn of the 50501 Movement, which organized the July 4 rally. Many immigrants, he said, are 'afraid to go to work, afraid to go to school.' Federal agents, often shielding their identities with face masks and sometimes driving unmarked cars, have been carrying out aggressive raids since early June, triggering widespread protests. Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the L.A. area to protect federal buildings and workers during the unrest, which garnered pushback from state and local officials who complained that the military presence exacerbated the situation. Earlier this week, about 150 Guard members were released from the protest assignment. The immigration enforcement actions in L.A. have heightened tensions between city and state leaders and the Trump administration. The public sparring has played out on social media, and in court. Mayor Karen Bass renewed her calls this week for Trump to end the ICE raids, saying in a post on X that his administration is 'causing the fear and terror so many in LA are feeling.' 'They came for our neighbors in unmarked vans. Raided workplaces. Ripped apart families. Even U.S. citizens. This is not law enforcement—it's political theater with human costs,' she wrote in another post. Gov. Gavin Newsom is battling the Trump administration in court over the deployment of Guard troops without his consent. And this week, the Trump administration sued the city of L.A., Bass and City Council members, saying the city's sanctuary law is illegal. The law generally prohibits city employees or city property to be used to investigate or detain anyone for the purpose of immigration enforcement. On Wednesday, immigrants rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and Public Counsel sued the Trump administration in federal court seeking to block what the suit describes as the administration's 'ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law' during immigration raids in the L.A. area.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Breaking down claim of incinerators at 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center
In early July 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that incinerators had been or would be installed at "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention center in Ochopee, Florida. One TikTok user said: "Just in case you don't know what's going on, a girl on TikTok came on here and said that one of her neighbors received a government contract asking them to install a bunch of incinerators at Alligator Alcatraz. They're installing incinerators at Alligator Alcatraz." The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), X (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Snopes readers wrote in asking if the claim was true. However, we found no evidence that anyone involved in the construction of "Alligator Alcatraz" had installed incinerators at the time of this writing. A TikTok user originally made the claim in a video that has since disappeared from the platform. We found no credible news outlets or officials reporting the claim as true (archived, archived, archived, archived). Though a state official and local reporting confirmed construction involved private businesses, we found no proof that officials or businesses contracted incinerators for the "Alligator Alcatraz" site. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said of the claim: Beyond disgusting: From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to implying incinerators are being used at Alligator Alcatraz for nefarious purposes, the vilification of ICE must stop. This type of rhetoric directly contributes to ICE law enforcement facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults against them. Our brave law enforcement should be thanked for risking their lives everyday to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens including gang members, murderers, and ped*ph*les. We also reached out to the White House, the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Emergency Management and eight named private contractors on the detention center project to ask whether they had installed or planned to install incinerators at the new detention center and, if so, for what purpose. We await replies to our queries. Snopes viewed a reposting of an early version of the claim on TikTok, which showed a clip of user @travyn overlaid with the text: A few days ago a neighbor told me that his cousin was offered a contracting job to install "a ton" of incinerators into Alligator Alcatraz. I made a video establishing it as an alleged rumor. After listening to Karoline Leavitt talk about it today, I can't consider it alleged anymore. We reached out to the user over email to ask for contact details for the neighbor or their cousin or any other information about the alleged contract and await a reply. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a June 30, 2025, news conference that President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and DeSantis, along with other officials, would visit "Alligator Alcatraz" on July 1. Leavitt said, "The facility is in the heart of the Everglades and will be informally known as 'Alligator Alcatraz.' There's only one road leading in and the only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife in unforgiving terrain." She praised the facility as "an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass-deportation campaign in American history." Leavitt did not go into further detail about the features of the detention center and did not mention incinerators at the facility during the news conference. Following Trump's tour of "Alligator Alcatraz" on July 1, news outlets and editorial photo agencies such as Getty Images shared images from inside the facility. We did not find images showing incinerators, though these would likely be placed outside. During the July 1 visit, Trump, Noem, DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, executive director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, also spoke to the media. This news conference did not include mention of incinerators but did confirm that authorities had partnered with private businesses to build the facility. Guthrie said, "There are over 13 different vendors that came together to get this solved in eight days. Truly, a whole lot of private-sector partnership to get that done." Gurthrie did not say exactly what the 13 vendors provided. Reporting by the Miami Herald identified eight of the private vendors: CDR Maguire, Doodie Calls, GardaWorlds, Garner Environmental Services, Gothams, Granny's Alliance, Longview International Technological Solutions and SLSCO. Snopes reached out to the companies to ask whether they had supplied or contracted incinerators for "Alligator Alcatraz" and await replies to our queries. 272 Alligator Alcatraz Photos & High Res Pictures - Getty Images. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025. "alligator Alcatraz" AND Incinerator - Google Search. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025. "alligator Alcatraz" AND Incinerator - Search News. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025. "alligator Alcatraz" AND Incinerator - Yahoo Search Results. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025. "alligator Alcatraz" AND Incinerator at DuckDuckGo. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025. Blair, Anthony. First Photos from inside "Alligator Alcatraz" Reveal Bleak Digs for up to 5,000 Migrants. 1 Jul. 2025, Glorioso, Alexandra, et al. "Contractors Building Alligator Alcatraz Have Donated Money to Florida GOP, DeSantis." Miami Herald, 3 Jul. 2025, LiveNOW from FOX. "President Trump Participates in 'Alligator Alcatraz' Roundtable Discussion | LiveNOW from FOX." YouTube, 1 Jul. 2025, The White House. "Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, June 30, 2025." YouTube, 30 Jun. 2025, Tisdale, Jennifer. "Rumors Are Circulating Online About Incinerators Being Installed at 'Alligator Alcatraz.'" Distractify, 2 Jul. 2025, @trianamusic. Instagram, 2 Jul. 2025, July 3, 2025: This report was updated to include a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Bad Bunny calls out Trump's anti-immigrant policies using faux voice recording
Bad Bunny is celebrating the Puerto Rican diaspora and immigrant community this Fourth of July with a political statement. The Puerto Rican reggaeton star released the music video for "NUEVAYoL" off his latest album "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" on Friday morning, seemingly taking a stand against Donald Trump's anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric. Towards the end of the video, as people huddle around an old school radio, a voice meant to emulate Trump's very own can be heard saying: "I made a mistake. I want to apologize to the immigrants in America." "I'm in the United States. I know America is the whole continent," the faux Trump continues. "I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans …" Recently, due to Trump's ongoing immigration crackdown, Southern California has been the epicenter of dozens of ICE raids since early June. On July 3, Congress passed Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," which will allocate $45 billion for immigration detention centers as well as about $30 billion to hire more ICE personnel, for transportation costs and to maintain ICE facilities, according to NPR. Bad Bunny features Puerto Rico flag across Statue of Liberty in music video It wouldn't be a Bad Bunny music video without giving a nod to his Puerto Rican heritage. In the music video, the 31-year-old also features a powerful image of the Puerto Rican flag against the Statue of Liberty's forehead. Bad Bunny ended the "NUEVAYoL" music video with another message: "Juntos Somos Más Fuertes" ("Together We Are Stronger"). Bad Bunny's latest album "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" pays tribute to his Boricua roots and sees the singer incorporate traditional genres such as Plena, salsa and jibaro into his signature Latin urbano sound. The 17-track LP features collaborations with Puerto Rican acts including RaiNao, Omar Courtz and Dei V, and Los Pleneros de la Cresta. What happens now? Bad Bunny's residency is supercharging Puerto Rico's tourism. In honor of the album's release, Bad Bunny is hosting an estimated 600,000 concertgoers at his sold-out No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí concert residency, which will take place at the Coliseo de Puerto from July 11 to Sept. 14. "The idea for the residency was always there, for as long as I can remember," Bad Bunny told Variety in an interview. "But it became difficult to ignore, the more time passed. I'll admit, it was hard to complete my last tour, because all I wanted to do was move into this chapter." Watch Bad Bunny's new music video for 'NUEVAYoL': In May, Bad Bunny announced a world tour for "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" − but to many fans' surprise, it excluded the U.S. The tour will kick off Nov. 21 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before making its way through Latin America through late February. Bad Bunny will also perform in Sydney, Australia, for the first time, before a performance in Tokyo in March. He'll be hitting up Europe in June and July, visiting London, Marseille, Stockholm and Milan. Bad Bunny's residency is supercharging Puerto Rico's tourism With an estimated 600,000 attendees throughout the residency, the concert series is sparking what Glorianna Yamín, vice president of marketing at Discover Puerto Rico, called a "peak period for tourism." Halfway around the world, Hawaii's high levels of tourism are negatively impacting the islands. From overcrowded trails to traffic congestion, the Pacific islands have been actively seeking visitors who want to create a deeper connection with Hawaii. Puerto Rico, for its part, is paying attention. "It's definitely a change for the industry," Yamín told USA TODAY. "The entire tourism industry is getting ready." It's not just about the crowds. Discover Puerto Rico (DPR), the island's destination marketing organization, is using this moment to highlight the importance of responsible and sustainable tourism. Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico: Expect higher prices for flights, hotels this summer More: Bad Bunny fans won't want to leave Puerto Rico after visiting these 17 places "We are making sure that we're educating those visitors; first, so they behave as they should, but also so they're intrigued about our culture, our music, our history, our gastronomy … things Bad Bunny touches on in his album and already has momentum with," Yamín said. Contributing: Edward Segarra, Josh Rivera, USA TODAY
