Lorde Posts ‘Ice Out’ and Donates $204,000 From Minneapolis Merch Sales to the Immigrant Defense Network and More

During a recent two-night engagement in Minneapolis, Lorde channeled all merchandise revenue from the shows toward supporting immigrant rights. The total contribution, amounting to $204,000, was split between the Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee and the Immigrant Defense Network. The singer, whose 2021 album "Solar Power" marked a critically acclaimed shift to a sun-drenched folk-pop sound, shared the news on social media with an image featuring "ICE out" written on her hand—a direct critique of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This substantial donation moves beyond performative solidarity, offering material aid to groups providing essential legal services and policy advocacy.

This action places Lorde among a cohort of major artists who have publicly condemned ICE, a movement visibly showcased at the latest Grammy Awards. The ceremony saw numerous attendees, including Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, and Kehlani, wearing "ICE out" pins, while several winners addressed the issue from the podium. This convergence of concert-stage and red-carpet activism demonstrates how musicians are embedding political critique into high-profile industry moments, thereby amplifying their message to an international viewership. The trend reflects a broader expectation for public figures to leverage their platforms, a shift accelerated in the digital age where artist-fan relationships are deeply interconnected.

A particularly forceful statement came from global superstar Bad Bunny. Upon winning the award for best música urbana album, the Puerto Rican artist—who is slated to make history as the first primarily Spanish-language headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2023—delivered a powerful rebuke. "We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens," he declared. "We are humans and we are Americans." He capped his remarks by asserting that "the only thing that is more powerful than hate is love." His Grammy speech directly extended the cultural conversation ignited by his Halftime Show announcement, using his unprecedented platform to confront dehumanizing narratives about immigrants.

Billie Eilish also seized her Grammy moment, using her song of the year acceptance speech to state, "No one is illegal on stolen land," and to add a pointed, "fuck ICE." Eilish, whose debut album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" dominated the 2020 Grammy Awards, has a established history of advocacy on environmental and social justice issues. These unambiguous declarations from award-winning artists indicate a move toward more overt and sustained political engagement within the music industry. As cultural analyst Dr. Anya Sharma observes, "Today's top artists often view their commercial success as a direct conduit for activism, fundamentally linking their artistic output with resource redistribution and systemic critique." This evolution means that supporting an artist's music now frequently involves endorsing their philanthropic and activist work, reshaping the traditional dynamics of fan culture.