Amid the opening monologue schmoozing, Trevor Noah, back for one last go-round as host of the Grammy Awards—his sixth and final time—took a shot at MAGA Barbie herself, Nicki Minaj, deriding the embattled rapper.
“Nicki Minaj is not here, she is not here, uh,” he began, drawing loud cheers from attendees. He continued with his best impression of the POTUS:
“She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues: ‘Actually, Nicki, I have the biggest ass, I have it. Everybody’s saying it Nicki, I know they say it’s you, but it’s me. Womp womp womp, look at it baby.’”
The Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated comedian, who is also serving as executive producer for the February 1 ceremony held at Downtown Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, delivered a monologue that eschewed outright political statements. Instead, he gestured toward the state of national politics with a nostalgic touch.
Noah noted that legendary hip-hop and neo-soul artist Lauryn Hill would be taking the stage for the first time since the turn of the millennium.
“Back in 1999, the president had had a sex scandal, people thought computers were about to destroy the world, and Diddy was arrested—boy, how times have changed,” Noah said.
Elsewhere in the monologue, while shouting out the starry audience including Jamie Foxx, Pharrell, and Doechii, he remarked,
“There are so many stars in this room, I feel like I’m at Jeff Bezos’ wedding, but with way, way more Black people, you know what I mean?”
Noah began hosting the Grammys as part of a corporate synergy move while he was the host of The Daily Show on CBS’ Paramount network Comedy Central. He continued to serve as host and executive producer after leaving The Daily Show in December 2022.
This year marks the last time the Grammy Awards will air on CBS, where it has aired every year since 1973. Beginning next year, the show will move to ABC as part of the Grammys’ 10-year deal with Disney, which was announced last year.
From 2027, the Grammys will air on ABC, Hulu, and Disney+, taking it through to 2036.
https://deadline.com/2026/02/trevor-noah-grammys-opening-monologue-nicki-minaj-trump-1236705264/
