Chappell Roan, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga spoke out on HR issues ranging from benefits to DEI. Reporter Caroline Colvin makes sense of these artists’ awards speeches.
Standout performances, Beyoncé’s victories: These were the main buzzworthy aspects of the 2025 Grammy Awards. But another noteworthy thread ran through the fabric of Sunday’s award show. Key players, particularly in their awards speeches, gave their two cents on some of the hottest topics in the labor space.
Here are three key moments in the night that can have reverb effects in the world of HR.
Lady Gaga nods to Trump’s anti-trans orders
One of many executive orders put forth by President Donald Trump denied the validity of transgender identity and doubled down on the “binary nature of sex.” Apart from setting the ideological tone for the Republican party, this order sought to ban trans workers from single-sex spaces, such as workplace bathrooms.
After performing alongside Bruno Mars earlier in the night, Lady Gaga and her collaborator returned to accept “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” for their apocalyptic love song “Die with a Smile.” Mars gave his thanks and Gaga followed.
“Trans people are not invisible,” she stated, to widespread applause, including that of Billie Eilish, Beyoncé and Charli XCX. “Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up.”
In 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In his executive order, Trump specifically called out this case ruling as detrimental to women.
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