Killer Mike was escorted out of the Grammy Awards by police after winning three awards. Photo / X @thehollywoodreporter
Killer Mike was escorted out of the Grammy Awards by police after winning three awards. Photo / X @thehollywoodreporter
Killer Mike, an American rapper and activist, has been spotted being taken away in handcuffs at the 66th Grammy Awards.
The Hollywood Reporter shared a video to their X (formerly Twitter) account showing the star - born Michael Santiago Render - being escorted out of the Crypto.com Arena by police officers moments after the pre-show, in which he won three Grammy Awards.
While exact details about the 48-year-old’s arrest are yet to be released, Hollywood Reporter journalist Chris Gardner posted a series of tweets to X claiming the arrest was related to a misdemeanour charge that is not in relation to anything that may have happened at the awards show.
However, AP have since spoken to LAPD spokesperson Officer Mike Lopez who said the star’s detention stemmed from an altercation inside the arena around 4 p.m.
He wrote: “Just spoke to an official who tells me it’s a misdemeanour and has nothing to do with anything that happened today here inside the arena. Likely he will be released once it’s sorted. ‘It’s a big nothing,’ source says.”
A representative for Render did not immediately respond to emails or text messages requesting a comment.
Gardner posted a follow-up tweet shortly afterwards showing a photo of Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason speaking to the rapper’s team and officials.
It comes after Killer Mike won Best Rap Album for Michael at the awards pre-show. His song Scientists and Engineers also won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
The rapper made headlines earlier in the day after the Recording Academy accidentally announced that Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s Barbie World won Best Rap Song, before later announcing the award actually went to Render’s track, which features Andre 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane.
In his acceptance speech, he said, “For all the people out there that think you get too old to rap, bulls***. I don’t give a damn if you’re 78 rapping about how many gals you got in the nursing home - make sure we keep hip-hop alive.”
Killer Mike accepts the award for Best Rap Album for Michael during the 66th annual Grammy Awards. Photo / AP
The star won his first Grammy more than 20 years ago in 2003, when he won Best Rap Performance by a duo or group for The Whole World, a collaboration with OutKast.
“The only thing that limits your age is not being truthful about your age or what you’re doing,” the 48-year-old said backstage. He won for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album.
Killer Mike poses in the press room with the awards for best rap performance and best rap song. Photo / AP
“At 20 years old, I thought it was cool to be a drug dealer,” he said. “At 40, I started to live with the regrets and the things I’ve done. At 45, I started to rap about it. At 48, I stand here as a man full of empathy and sympathy for the things I’ve done.”
As a member of Run the Jewels, Render, along with producer El-P, pumped out four critically acclaimed albums. He made noise outside of music as a social-political activist who has spoken out against inequality for black people, race relations and became a vocal supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 US presidential campaign.
The Grammy-winner hosted Netflix’s Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, a 2019 documentary series about issues that affect the black community. He also made an emotional plea to calm a protest against police brutality that turned violent in Atlanta.
Follow the Herald’s live coverage of the 2024 Grammy Awards here.
