Mark Pulliam, retired attorney and Misrule of Law blogger, criticized Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s attendance at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, arguing her presence at the event undermined the impartiality and public credibility expected of a Supreme Court justice, and that she should recuse herself from all immigration cases moving forward.
Jackson attended the Grammy Awards last week, where she was nominated for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording for her memoir, “Lovely One.”
During the awards show, multiple award recipients – including artists Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny – delivered politicized acceptance speeches, taking aim specifically at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Eilish, during her acceptance speech, said, “No one is illegal on stolen land…I feel really hopeful in this room and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter and the people matter. And f*** ICE is all I want to say.”
Bad Bunny, who headlined Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl halftime show, also mentioned ICE in his acceptance speech after winning Album of the Year, saying, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out.”
Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has since sent a letter to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts urging an investigation into Jackson’s attendance at the event.
On Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pulliam argued by attending the Grammys, Jackson participated in what he described as a “partisan political rally.”
“She had to have known that the Grammy Awards would be a giant anti-Trump political rally…She was a participant at what amounts to a partisan political rally. And of course the propaganda press adored what she was doing, and she received all this flattering attention, which is what she wants. These people are narcissists at heart. They want attention,” Pulliam said.
Pulliam referenced the Supreme Court Code of Conduct, emphasizing Jackson’s actions may violate judicial ethics.
“She is a signatory to the Supreme Court Code of Conduct, which requires justices to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and to refrain from doing things that reflect adversely on the justice’s impartiality…if your impartiality might reasonably be questioned…you have to refrain from hearing a case. You have to recuse yourself,” he stated.
Pulliam said Jackson’s participation at the event “clearly crossed the line” and stressed that ethical rules must be applied evenly to all justices, citing past scrutiny of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito compared to left-leaning justices, including the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who received accolades without similar criticism.
“If we’re going to have ethical rules, they have to be applied in an even-handed manner, and she needs to be dealt with seriously and appropriately by the court because I think she clearly crossed the line, and there have to be consequences when you cross the line,” he said.
Addressing claims that Chief Justice Roberts’ “paramount consideration is preserving the public image of the court,” Pulliam argued the chief justice should take action against Jackson “if he’s serious about maintaining the public image of the court.”
“[Y]ou have a justice who literally dresses and acts like a clown, performs on Broadway, shows up wearing her ridiculous sequined glasses at the Grammys…she’s making the court the butt of a joke…These judges need to act like judges,” he said.
Live February 09 https://t.co/HtuS99ImNZ
— Michael Patrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) February 9, 2026
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
