South Africa-born comedian and TV personality, Trevor Noah said the ‘vibe was off’ at the 2025 Grammy Awards that were held on the 2nd of February at the Crypto.com Arena, in Los Angeles.
He attributed this to the devastating wildfires that engulfed the city and reportedly claimed 29 lives, leaving scores of others displaced.
Noah who was hosting the show for the fifth consecutive time said he anticipated that it would be challenging this time around.
“I thought it was going to be hard because I knew that half the people who were there had a sadness they carried, mixed with resilience.
The other half had some sort of reverence for what everyone was experiencing, but they’ve come into town.
Every normal pre-grammy party was cancelled as well as after-parties,” said Noah on his What Now Podcast.
He continues to add that “this was the most stressful, high wire, because he didn’t want anyone who’s experiencing this disaster to feel like he was minimizing it because he wasn’t.”
The former Daily Show host also shared that attendees weren’t as jubilant like with the previous shows.
Despite some backlash for the continuation of the ceremony amidst the fires, the Grammys raised about $7 million towards aid for the victims and firefighters.
The money will go to various organisations which comprise of California Community Foundation, Direct relief and the Pasadena Community Foundation.
Furthermore, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reports that over 300 wildfires have destroyed nearly 58 thousand acres in the first few days of February.
