Doechii used her acceptance speech at the BET Awards to speak out about President Donald Trump sending the military to Los Angeles to crack down on protests against ICE immigration raids.
The 26-year-old was presented with the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and said she wanted to use her time on stage to “address what’s happening right now outside of the building” at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
The “Anxiety” hitmaker continued: “There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order.
“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?”
Doechii was widely applauded by the audience.
“People are being swept up and torn from their families,” she continued. “I feel like it’s my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people … We all deserve to live in hope and not fear. I hope we stand together.”
Nearly 5,000 military personnel have so far been deployed to LA in response to ongoing protests against ICE raids. President Trump ordered the Pentagon to federalize an additional 2,000 California National Guard members, joining the existing 2,000, along with 700 Marines mobilized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The deployment has cost $134 million to date, with Trump claiming the city "would be burning to the ground right now" without the troops. However, California Governor Gavin Newsom is suing the administration over the initial Guard deployment, arguing that it was illegal and exacerbated tensions. Newson has also deployed additional law enforcement to manage the situation.
Elsewhere at the BET Awards, host Kevin Hart cracked jokes about Diddy and Kanye West.
Although Combs was not directly named, Hart alluded to the embattled music mogul multiple times while telling the audience that there would not be any afterparties because that was where “s*** gets slippery.”
At another point during his speech, Hart told the crowd not to let disgraced rapper West in after his unexpected appearance at the Grammy Awards back in February, where his wife, Bianca Censori, dropped her coat to reveal a “nude” look.
“Oh s***, it’s Kanye. Yep, he says he’s out front, he’s waiting for somebody to invite him in,” Hart joked. “We all saw Sinners, don’t let his ass in here!”
