Grammy Awards host sparks backlash after joking about Trump and adult media

(Washington, Feb 2) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened legal action against the host of the 68th Grammy Awards after the comedian made remarks referencing Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the ceremony.

According to Agence France-Presse, the comments were made shortly after Billie Eilish won Song of the Year for her track “Wildflower.” Host Trevor Noah jokingly compared the Grammy win to Trump’s previously stated desire to acquire Greenland.

“Wow, this is the Grammy every artist dreams of — almost as much as Trump dreams of owning Greenland,” Noah said, referring to Trump’s past comments about annexing the Arctic territory.

Noah then added, “It makes sense, because now that Epstein is gone, he probably needs a new island to hang out on with former President Clinton.”

Earlier, Noah had announced that this would be his final year hosting the Grammy Awards, a role he had held for six consecutive years. Throughout his tenure, he rarely made overtly political remarks during the ceremony.

The jokes quickly drew a sharp response from Trump, who took to his social media platform, Truth Social, calling the Grammy Awards “the worst show” and “unwatchable,” before launching personal attacks against Noah.

Trump stated, “I can’t speak for Bill Clinton, but I have never been to Epstein’s island — not even anywhere near it. Before tonight’s false and defamatory statements, no one had ever accused me of going there, not even the fake news media.”

The Republican leader went on to label the South African-born comedian a “total loser” and said he needed to “get his facts straight.”

Trump further claimed he would instruct his lawyers to sue Noah, writing: “This pathetic, talentless fool of an MC… Noah, get ready — I’ll be taking care of you!”

Trump has previously acknowledged moving within the same social circles as Epstein in Florida and New York. In recent months, he has sought to block the release of extensive documents related to the disgraced financier and has given varying accounts of why their relationship eventually ended.

More than three million pages of documents released last Friday reportedly mention numerous high-profile figures, including the 79-year-old Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, and Britain’s former Prince Andrew.