Last night, the 67th Grammy Awards were actually *gasp* a really good time?! All the performers, from Sabrina Carpenter to Charli XCX, gave thrilling live shows. Kendrick Lamar indisputably won his rap beef with Drake (sorry not sorry, Drake), coming home with five awards for “Not Like Us.” Even notable antisemite Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori potentially crashing the Grammys red carpet couldn’t overshadow the crowning achievement of the evening: Beyoncé won a long overdue Album of the Year award for “Cowboy Carter.”
And yet, the most heartening part of the evening, in my estimation, wasn’t any of the above. Rather, the biggest winner at the Grammys last night was the social justice-oriented acceptance speech. The ceremony took place as President Trump’s administration has started attacking trans rights and DEI initiatives and carrying out highly publicized ICE deportation raids, and as the wealth gap in this country has grown wider than ever. Even as artists and the audience alike clearly enjoyed celebrating the biggest night in music, Grammy winners from Doechii to Lady Gaga didn’t let us forget that there is still plenty of tikkun olam (healing the world) and tzedek, tzedek tirdof (justice, justice you shall pursue) to be done.
Here are all the acceptance speeches from the 2025 Grammy Awards that embody the Jewish concepts of tikkun olam and tzedek, tzedek tirdof:
Doechii on Black Women and Girls
As Doechii accepted the Best Rap Album Grammy for “Alligator Bites Never Heal” — making her just the third woman to claim the trophy after Lauryn Hill in 1997 and Cardi B in 2019 — she spoke directly to Black women and girls watching.
“I wanna tell you, you can do it. Anything is possible,” she said tearfully, as her mother stood behind her. “Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you that tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark or that you’re not smart enough or that you’re too dramatic or you’re too loud. You are exactly who you need to be, to be right where you are and I’m a testimony.”
Chappell Roan on Fair Labor and Health Insurance
Openly lesbian superstar Chappell Roan has never shied away from social justice. In the past, she’s publicly supported local drag queens when touring and turned down a request to perform at a White House Pride event when she thought President Biden hadn’t done enough for trans rights, women’s rights and “for all oppressed people in occupied territories.” So it comes as no surprise that the Best New Artist Grammy winner used her platform to talk about livable wages and protection for artists.
“I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” the “Good Luck, Babe” singer read from her notebook to thunderous applause.
She went on, “I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor. When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had… quite a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and [could not] afford insurance.”
“Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection,” she concluded. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
Shakira on Immigration
After winning Best Latin Pop album for “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” Shakira wasted no time in sharing support for the immigrant community. “I want to dedicate this award to all my immigrant brothers and sisters in this country,” the Colombian-born singer began her speech. “You are loved, you are worth it and I will always fight with you.”
Lady Gaga on Trans Visibility
It feels like it’s been a century since Lady Gaga’s era of avant-garde proudly queer dance pop music like “Born This Way” and “Judas.” But last night proved that Mother Monster is returning to her roots. Not only did Lady Gaga release a new music video “Abracadabra” during the Grammys, but she then proceeded to make a plea for empathy for the trans community during her acceptance speech for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars.
“Trans people are not invisible,” she told the audience. “Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up.”