But the Grammys — as well as a few of the artists who participated in last night's ceremony — also took a massive step backward by failing to address the recent imprisonment of rapper 21 Savage, who currently remains in what a human rights advocate has referred to as “one of the worst immigration detention facilities in the United States.” The rapper, a U.K. national who came to the United States when he was seven years old, was apprehended by ICE at the top of the month and was accused of staying in the U.S. on an expired visa; his lawyers claimed he was being targeted for politically conscious lyrics, and that he had a visa application in process at the time of his arrest.

Savage was nominated for two awards at the ceremony, and his management attempted to transfer his invitations to his mother; after initially being stonewalled, the Academy relented following increased pressure on social media. Such treatment is even more striking considering the range of political statements made at the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies; last year, Camila Cabello spoke up in defense of DREAMers, the undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children and since threatened with removal by President Donald Trump.

