Alicia Keys calls DEI ‘a gift’ in Grammys speech after Trump’s anti-diversity comments

Alicia Keys has spoken out in support of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in her Grammys 2025 acceptance speech, following President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity comments. 

The “No One” hitmaker won the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the Grammys 2025 ceremony on Sunday (2nd February) and highlighted the need to platform diverse voices in the music industry. 

Queen Latifah presented Keys with the award and described her as a “constant inspiration through her voice, her talent, but most importantly, through her heart”. 

Keys drew on her personal experience, telling the audience: “I always had to fight for a certain level of respect as a songwriter, a composer and especially a producer. It’s strange that we don’t think of women as producers like Quincy or Dre or Swizzy, but female producers have always powered the industry.” 

“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” Keys said in her speech. “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift.

“The more voices, the more powerful the sound,” she said. “When destructive voices try to burn us down, we rise from the ashes like a Phoenix.”

Her speech comes after Trump blamed diversity initiatives for causing a Washington DC plane crash which killed at least 67 people. 

The President baselessly blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices for contributing to the crash, speculating that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had lowered its standards during the Joe Biden and Barack Obama presidencies.

In recent moments, Trump has also rolled back the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, boasted about ridding “woke cr*p”, and signed an executive order declaring trans people “unfit” for military service. 

• Dec 31 2024

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