Lady Gaga is on the other side of the world, but she’s still feeling the pain of those affected by the violence in Minnesota amid ICE’s ongoing presence in Minneapolis.
During her concert at the Tokyo Dome on Jan. 29 (which was still Jan. 28 in the U.S.), the pop star paused her regularly scheduled programming to send a message of support to communities in America facing mass deportations under the Donald Trump administration and slam the immigration enforcement agency. “I want to take a second to talk about something that’s extremely important to me,” she began, sitting at her piano.
“In a couple of days, I’m gonna be heading home, and my heart is aching thinking about the people, the children, the families, all over America, who are being mercilessly targeted by ICE,” Gaga continued. “I’m thinking about all of their pain and how their lives are being destroyed right in front of us.”
The 14-time Grammy winner went on to say that Minnesota specifically has been in her thoughts, as well as “everyone back at home who is living in so much fear and searching for answers on what we all should do.”
“When entire communities lose their sense of safety and belonging, it breaks something in all of us,” she added. “We need to get back to a place of safety and peace and accountability. Good people shouldn’t have to fight so hard and risk their lives for well-being and respect, and I hope our leaders are listening. I hope you’re listening to us asking you to change your course of action swiftly and have mercy on everyone in our country.”
ICE has been an ongoing source of political tension since Trump first resumed office in 2025, but this past month has seen it reach a fever pitch with the department’s widely protested operations in Minneapolis. Two people — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — have died after being shot and killed by ICE officers, sparking outrage across the country.
“ICEs actions are unconscionable,” Olivia Rodrigo recently wrote on her Instagram Story, while Billie Eilish said during her 2026 MLK Jr. Beloved Community Award acceptance speech, “We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped, peaceful protesters being assaulted and murdered, our civil rights being stripped.”
The Trump administration, however, has insisted that both killings resulted from officers acting in self-defense, despite video footage filmed by eyewitnesses contradicting those claims.
Gaga will play one more show at the Tokyo Dome before returning stateside for a second North American leg of her Mayhem Ball Tour. Her show calendar, however, is clear for Sunday (Feb. 1), when the 2026 Grammys are to take place, with Mother Monster competing for seven awards thanks to her Billboard 200-topping album MAYHEM and Joker: Folie à Deux companion album Harlequin.
One week later is the Super Bowl, ahead of which Gaga shared her emotional cover of Mister Rogers’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” for Rocket and Redfin’s Big Game ad. “Mister Rogers was so clearly someone that stood for something, and it is powerful to think of what he would say right now,” she says while recording the rendition in a behind-the-scenes video. “It’s a special song to revisit at this time.”
