While accepting the BET Awards’ first trophy of the night for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, Doechii also became the first person on stage to acknowledge the protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement that have been taking place for days in Los Angeles, where the Awards are being held. Though local officials have said the protests have been mostly peaceful and manageable, President Trump has portrayed Los Angeles as a lawless wasteland and threatened military deployment against the demonstrations.
“As much as I am honored by this award, I do want to address what’s happening right now outside of the building,” Doechii said on stage. On her way to the microphone, she had fiddled with her purse’s zipper, but spoke freely once she arrived there. “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? People are being swept up and torn from their families.”
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Doechii didn’t limit her concerns to Los Angeles alone. “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,” she said. “We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear. And I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate – and we protest against it.”
Demonstrators have been dissenting against federal efforts to round up undocumented workers in both downtown L.A. and the neighboring city of Paramount since Friday. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump federalized and deployed National Guard troops to the region, against the wishes of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said Trump’s move was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions [and] erode public trust.” Trump has since reportedly mobilized hundreds of Marines as well, threatening to dispatch the nation’s military among the protests.
