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Paris Jackson Uses Grammy Stage To Protest Dakota Access Pipeline

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 18:06 PST, Feb 12, 2017

Paris Jackson was one of the first to take the stage at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, and she used her podium to speak out against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. The stunning 18-year-old daughter of late pop legend Michael Jackson took the stage at the Grammy’s not long after show-opener J-Lo began the night by quoting the incomparable Toni Morrison.

With the current political climate and unabashed Morrison quote by Lopez, Paris Jackson’s open protest of the multi-billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline wasn’t really surprising. However, it certainly fueled the fires of activists in the audience, many of which noted their appreciation of Jackson and her words on social media.

As Fusion reports, the Paris Jackson Dakota Access Pipeline comments came immediately after the teen, looking every inch the Hollywood royalty that she is, took her place at the mic. As the crowd roared, Paris took on the controversy at Standing Rock (and perhaps called out the NoDAPL crew for putting their energy into an awards show rather than actually protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline) with two short sentences.

“We could use this kind of excitement at a pipeline protest. Hashtag no DAPL!”

Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16U8XtkNuGo

Paris’ official role at the annual music awards show was to introduce Daft Punk and The Weeknd, who were performing at the star-studded event. The Weeknd took to Twitter after Paris Jackson’s brief introduction to give a shout-out to the gorgeous young lady.

Paris Jackson isn’t the only celebrity to bring attention to the disputed Dakota Access Pipeline in recent weeks. The weekend after her presidential pop left office, Malia Obama was sighted in Park City, Utah, protesting the DAPL during the Sundance Film Festival. Many who witnessed (or later heard about) Malia’s low-key protest felt that the former first daughter was throwing shade at new POTUS Donald Trump, who had just signed a controversial executive order paving the way for the completion of the crude oil pipeline.

Another Dakota Access Pipeline protester with star power is Shailene Woodley, who has been one of Hollywood’s most vocal opponents to the pipeline. In fact, 25-year-old Shailene was arrested for the role she played at Standing Rock back in October. After her arrest, her activism against the pipeline project has substantially increased.

In fact, Woodley was actually the one who outed Malia Obama’s #NoDAPL activities in Utah in late January, reports US Weekly. The Divergent actress talked about spotting Malia at the Dakota Access Pipeline protest during a subsequent interview.

“It was amazing to see Malia. I saw her last night when we did the event with [Standing Rock Sioux Tribute] Chairman Dave Archambault. And it was incredible to see her there.”

In the aftermath of Paris Jackson turning her role at the Grammy’s into a political platform, many who saw her high-profile pipeline protest turned to Twitter to share their thoughts.

While she was the only one to touch on the #NoDAPL cause during her Grammy stint, Paris Jackson was far from the only A-list celeb to address politics during music’s big night. As the New York Times reports, A Tribe Called Quest (with Busta Rhymes), Katy Perry and Beyonce also got political at the show. Rather than talk about the Dakota Access Pipeline in the vein of Paris Jackson, they pounced on Donald Trump and conservative politics.

In the midst of a performance with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes expressly called out Trump and his disputed travel ban, which has been shot down by the Supreme Court.

“I just want to thank President Agent Orange for perpetuating all of the evil that you’ve been perpetuating throughout the United States. I want to thank President Agent Orange for your unsuccessful attempt of the Muslim ban. When we come together, we the people, we the people, we the people, we the people…”

Beyonce didn’t mention the Trump name directly, but she did talk the White House and racial diversity.

“This is something I want for every child of every race. And I feel it’s vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes.”

Katy Perry wore a “persist” armband, an apparent reference to recently-silenced Democratic congresswoman Elizabeth Warren, who Donald Trump has taken to referring to as “Pocahontas” in reference to her Native American heritage. Perry performed a new politically charged song while in front of a graphic of the U.S. Constitution. She ended her performance with some poignant lines.

“So comfortable, we’re living in a bubble, bubble/So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble…No hate.”

In addition, there were several handfuls of other references to politically-charged current events throughout the Grammy Awards.

However, no protesting artist seems to have been as widely praised on social media as Paris Jackson and her words against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

[Featured Image by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Images]

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