Singer Doechii used her moment on stage at the 2025 BET Awards to deliver a powerful speech, highlighting ongoing protests in Los Angeles.
Accepting the award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the Peacock Theater, Doechii addressed the tense atmosphere surrounding the event.
“As much as I am honored by this award, I do want to address what’s happening right now outside of the building,” she stated. “There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order.”
She directly questioned the deployment of military forces against protesters by Donald Trump. “Trump is using military forces to stop a protest and I want you 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?”
Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles amid protests against recent immigration raids. On Sunday, demonstrators shut down the 101 freeway near the BET Awards venue to protest Trump’s policies.
Doechii concluded her speech by saying, “People are being swept up and torn from their families and 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. 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.”
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