Trevor Noah Divides Fans With Bold Political Statements at the 2025 Grammys

The comedian hosted the Grammys for his fifth consecutive year.

The 2025 Grammy Awards kicked off on Sunday, Feb. 2, with a monologue from host Trevor Noah that divided viewers.

The 67th annual ceremony began at about 5 p.m. PT at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., after a wave of performers, presenters and nominees hit the red carpet to show off their best looks for the night.

Once everyone was ushered inside and had taken their seats, Noah, 40, began with brief opening remarks about the wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles last month before turning the ceremony over for an opening performance led by Dawes and special guests.

After the performance, Noah returned to complete his opening monologue with a more comedic spin—though not everyone who watched from home was onboard with the political jokes he included in his spiel.

“We’re gonna be honoring the best in music, as voted on by the 13,000 members of the Recording Academy and 20 million illegal immigrants,” Noah joked.

After shifting his focus to name-drop a few of the celebrities in the audience—including Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift—before dropping another political joke while mentioning Beyoncé’s recent tour announcement.

“I will say though, Beyoncé, there’s tariffs,” Noah said, referencing President Donald Trump’s emerging trade war. “We can’t afford a new tour, right? Maple syrup is about to be $50.”

Noah, who said he intends on enjoying the Grammys because it “may be my last time I get to host anything in this country,” went on to refer to Shakira as “the greatest thing out of Colombia that isn’t a Class A felony” before softening his monologue with a joke about Swift, who was nominated for six trophies at Sunday’s show—including Album of the Year, which she won for a record-setting fourth time at the 2024 Grammys.

“I’m just gonna say, Taylor,” he said, addressing the “Fortnight” songstress. “If you break Taylor’s record, you know, the Swifties are gonna come for you. You don’t want to mess with them, man—they’re like an army of Kendrick Lamars.”

Some fans wrote approvingly online of The Daily Show alum’s opening monologue, with one declaring that he was “doing a great job.”

Noah “should host every major award show,” one person tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.

“Trevor Noah’s got jokes!” another fan tweeted before quoting his line about maple syrup prices.

But several people were frustrated by the political lean of his remarks.

“Poor taste @ Trevor Noah. Keep politics out of awards shows!!!!!!!” one viewer urged.

Noah “makes me cringe every time he’s a host,” a viewer tweeted as another wondered, “why on earth would you make a joke at ANY latinos expense right now? Bye.”

Noah “is pissing me off so bad,” one X user agreed while another wrote, “trevor noah yawn.”