Coachella headliner Karol G says she’s been cautioned about bringing up ICE during her set this weekend.
The 35-year-old Colombian star is scheduled to take the stage on Sunday, where she will become the first Latina artist to headline the festival.
As she prepares for the milestone performance, the “TQG” singer said she wants to address ICE from the stage — but claims she has been advised not to mention it.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is part of the Department of Homeland Security and is tasked with enforcing immigration laws, including conducting arrests, detentions, and deportations.
Immigration enforcement has remained a central focus of Trump’s second term, and ICE has drawn increasing scrutiny over its tactics, detention practices, and deportations.
In an interview with Playboy for its Spring 2026 cover, Karol G opened up about the dilemma and said the warnings have been repeated, though she did not specify who made them.
“People will say, ‘It’s better you don’t,’ she said. “Why? Because if you say the thing, maybe the next day you’ll get a call: ‘Hey, we are taking your visa away.’ You become bait, because some people want to show their power.”
Even with that pressure, the Grammy winner said she’s still weighing how and when to use such a high-profile moment to speak up.
She explained that if she does make a statement, she wants it to be meaningful rather than something that amounts to a simple catchphrase. “I have a huge stage, and that’s why I want to wait, and if someone was ever to do something to me, I want to stand firmly on my stage for my community,” she explained. “So that’s why I may have to be more careful, and wait for my turn, and ensure that, through that opportunity, I can talk and represent something more.”
She continued: “What impact does it really have to say ‘ICE Out’ versus something else that can have a real impact on my community?”
Karol G also suggested that even a brief phrase like that could spark tension close to home, saying ‘my team would kill’ her for saying ‘ICE Out’.
Still, she indicated she isn’t ruling it out. “But I’m willing to say it,” she insists, while acknowledging the personal risk. “If I’m being honest with you, it’s something that crosses the line of what I have to do to protect myself. But at the end of the day, what is my role if I’m in this position?”
Bad Bunny used the phrase at the 2026 Grammy Awards, and Karol G later appeared among the “La Casita” guests during his Super Bowl halftime show in February.