From Kendrick Lamar’s dramatic opening number to Logic’s impassioned closer, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards were full of politically-charged moments. One of the highlights came in the middle of the show, with host James Corden’s hilarious Fire and Fury skit.
Celebrating the Best Spoken Word award, Corden had several celebrities narrate Michael Wolff’s book about President Donald Trump’s administration, including Snoop Dogg, Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Cher, and John Legend.
Reading an excerpt about Trump’s dinners with former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and cheeseburgers, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper stopped and quickly quipped: “Why am I even reading this shit? I can’t believe this…This is how he lives his life?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjbysQgJ64Y
After Legend and Cher read about Trump’s perceived short attention span, Snoop narrated a segment of the book about his inauguration, which was boycotted by several celebrities. “I definitely wasn’t there,” said Tha Doggfather.
DJ Khaled tried reading a portion of the book too, only he became distracted by his commonly-used phrases: “Another one! It’s We the Best! It’s DJ Khaled!” Corden cut the scene and exclaimed, “This isn’t gonna work,” which didn’t sit well with Khaled. “Everything I do works,” he yelled.
The skit also featured narration from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the presidency to Trump in the general election. Shortly after the bit aired on television, the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. lambasted Clinton. “Getting to read a #fakenews book excerpt at the Grammys seems like a great consolation prize for losing the presidency,” he tweeted. “The more Hillary goes on television the more the American people realize how awesome it is to have @realDonaldTrump in office.”
Trump, who started the day feuding with JAY-Z on Twitter over his “superbug” comments, has not addressed the Grammys skit. In the past, he’s been critical of Fire and Fury, which has been called an explosive insider’s look at the presidency.
This wasn’t the first time that many of these artists have spoken out against Trump. Legend has been vocal about his opposition to Trump’s policies like the proposed immigration ban and he included references to the administration in the video for his single “Penthouse Floor.”
Cardi has criticized Trump’s response to Puerto Rico’s hurricane crisis and called him “disgusting” for his reported comments about other nations as “shithole countries.” Meanwhile, Snoop, who named his latest project Make America Crip Again, has been in an all-out feud with Trump after shooting an impersonator named Ronald Klump with a fake gun in his video for “Lavender (Nightfall Remix).”