Snoop Dogg proves he's still in Hollywood's good graces despite Trump controversy
Snoop Dogg showed he remains a fixture in Hollywood’s inner circle after his commanding appearance at the 2026 Golden Globes — despite facing backlash surrounding his performance at a ball linked to President Donald Trump's inauguration.
The 54-year-old legendary rapper, who has also publicly praised Trump, was met with applause and cheers — and notably no boos — when he took the stage at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday night.
Snoop Dogg, who presented the first-ever award for best podcast, walked out while his 2004 hit "Drop It Like It's Hot" played before taking his place behind the microphone.
SNOOP DOGG PRAISES DONALD TRUMP: 'NOTHING BUT LOVE AND RESPECT'
"Stop the music!" Snoop Dogg called out as the audience laughed.
"I need y’all to loosen up a little bit. This is the double-G’s, the double-G’s, it’s the Golden Globes, and you’re with the D-O-double-G," Snopp Dogg said. "So, make sure you enjoy yourself, don’t be no stiff biff! Move around a little bit!"
"Best Podcast is a very important category for me, because, before podcasts, I was what y’all would listen to driving around in your cars. To you podcasters, you better hope I don’t get in that game," he joked to more laughter and cheers from the crowd.
"Roll the tape!" Snoop Dogg exclaimed before a highlight reel of the best podcast nominees played.
After the video concluded, Snoop Dogg said, "Shout-out to the Golden Globes for putting the podcast category in this awards show. And shout-out to all of the podcasters."
"You all are winners, but the real winner is…." he quipped.
The "Let It Roll" hitmaker then dropped an expletive in a portion of his speech that was cut from the live broadcast of the show.
"I’m high as a motherf---er right now," Snoop Dogg admitted, according to Entertainment Weekly.
"Y’all had me here too damn long!" he added.
Snoop Dogg then opened the envelope and revealed that Amy Poehler's "Good Hang" podcast had won the award.
Poehler beamed as she accepted the statuette and took a moment to share her excitement over receiving the award from Snoop Dogg.
"This is exactly how I pictured it: Snoop giving me the award," the "Saturday Night Live alum" said. "I don't know about award shows, but when they get it right, it makes sense."
Following her speech, Poehler and Snoop Dogg walked off the stage arm-in-arm.
Another award recipient who was thrilled by Snoop Dogg's appearance was "Adolescence" star Stephen Graham, who scored his first Golden Globe when he won best performance by a male actor in a limited series, anthology series, or a motion picture made for television.
During an interview with reporters following his win, Graham admitted that he was starstruck after meeting the hip-hop icon earlier in the night.
"I met Snoop Dogg, and he shook my hand," Graham said, according to People magazine. "He looked me right in the eyes. Couldn't see his eyes because he had his glasses on. Then he just said, ‘You’re a motherf---ing gangster.’"
"My life is complete," he added. "Thank you."
Social media and media outlets hailed Snoop Dogg’s appearance as one of the top viral moments of the night. The rapper was widely praised for the unpredictable energy that he brought to the awards ceremony with his blend of humor, swagger and off-the-cuff commentary.
Snoop Dogg's warm reception at the Golden Globes, both by the celebrities in the room and the viewers at home, underscored his enduring hold on pop culture — despite coming after the rapper's controversial connection to Trump and comments about the two-time president.
In January 2025, Snoop Dogg performed at the Crypto Ball, a high-profile event held during Donald Trump’s inauguration weekend. His appearance drew significant backlash from fans, the hip-hop community and commentators.
Some labeled Snoop Dogg a "sell-out" and accused the rapper of abandoning his values due to his past criticism of Trump.
Years after Snoop appeared on Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" in 2007, he mocked the real estate magnate in a music video. In his video for his 2017 song "Lavender", Snoop depicted Trump as a clown and shot the president in the head.
Snoop was also one of the roasters who took aim at Trump during the 2011 Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump. The Death Row Records owner earned laughs after he delivered jokes about Trump's presidential ambitions and personal life.
In 2017, Snoop Dogg criticized entertainers who would perform at Trump’s first inauguration.
"So ain’t no one gonna perform for Donald Trump, huh?" Snoop said in an Instagram video. "Which one of you [will] be the first one to do it?"
"I’m waiting," he added. "I’m gonna roast the f--- out of one of you."
During a 2018 appearance on DJ Suss One’s SiriusXM show, Snoop Dogg went on an expletive-laden rant against Trump supporters, who he suggested were racist, per People magazine.
During a 2020 appearance on "Big Boy’s Neighborhood on Real 92.3.", Snoop argued Trump shouldn’t be in office.
"I ain't never voted a day in my life, but this year I think I'm going to get out and vote because I can't stand to see this punk in office one more year," Snoop Dogg said.
Snoop explained he didn’t believe he was allowed to vote at the time due to his criminal record. Snoop was convicted of a felony in 1990 and 2007.
However, after a long history of condemning the president and his supporters, Snoop Dogg appeared to change his tune and praised the president in January 2024.
"Donald Trump? … He ain’t done nothing wrong to me. He has done only great things for me. He pardoned Michael Harris," Snoop told The Sunday Times.
"So, I have nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump."
Michael "Harry-O" Harris, an associate of Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight and the founder of the label's parent company, Godfather Entertainment, was pardoned in 2021 as one of Trump's final decisions before leaving office for the first time.
Harris was imprisoned on charges of conspiracy and attempted murder for over three decades.
"I love what they did," the rapper told the New York Post. "That's great work for the president and his team on the way out."
During a May 2025 appearance on "The Breakfast Club," the rapper addressed the backlash he received over his performance at the Crypto Ball and announced that his new music was a direct response to the haters.
When asked if he was bothered by the negative feedback, Snoop Dogg said he was not because he believed his performance was for a good cause.
"I DJ'ed at the Crypto Ball for what, 30 minutes?" he said.
SNOOP DOGG PRAISES DONALD TRUMP: 'NOTHING BUT LOVE AND RESPECT'
"Made a whole bunch of money, made a lot of relationships to help out the inner city and the community and teach financial literacy and crypto in a space that it don't exist," Snoop Dogg continued.
"That's 30 minutes. [For] 30 years, Snoop Dogg been doing great things for the community, building, showing up, standing up for the people, making it happen, being all I can be," he added.
Snoop made it clear his performance was not a Trump endorsement.
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"Even if I would have done it for him and hung out with him and took a picture with him, can't none of you motherf---ers tell me what I can and can't do," he said.
"But I'm not a politician. I don't represent the Republican Party. I don't represent the Democratic Party. I represent the motherf---ing Gangster Party period point blank, and G s--- we don't explain s---, so that's why I didn't explain. That's why I didn't go into detail when motherf---ers was trying to cancel me and say he a sellout," he said.
Snoop told "The Breakfast Club" that his album, "Iz it a Crime?," which was released in May 2025, was his direct response to the criticism he received over the months following his Crypto Ball performance.
"The Next Episode" rapper additionally spoke out about how he has previously dealt with negative responses after his pre-inauguration performance.
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"You ‘gon deal with hate when you get to the top, no matter who you are. … Me, personally, I answer it with success and love. That’s my answer to any hate and negativity that comes my way, ’cause it’s the strongest force that can beat it," he shared on the "R&B Money Podcast" in January.
Recently, there was a fan-driven push for Snoop Dogg to replace Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer after the Puerto Rican rapper's selection for the gig sparked controversy.
After Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner in late September, some conservative commentators and NFL fans branded Bad Bunny as politically extreme, pointing to his past comments about U.S. immigration policy and his decision not to tour in the continental U.S. over concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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Following Snoop’s popular halftime performance during the NFL’s 2025 Christmas Day game, some fans began suggesting the NFL should have chosen him over Bad Bunny.
Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg has not publicly commented on Bad Bunny's Super Bowl gig. Snoop Dogg previously appeared in the music video for Bad Bunny’s song "Hoy Cobré" from his 2020 album "El Último Tour del Mundo."
In 2019, Snoop Dogg teased a potential collaboration with the three-time Grammy Award winner.
"Me and Bad Bunny gonna do one real soon," he said, via the music outlet The Fader.
Snoop Dogg also celebrated the growing recognition that Latin musicians were receiving for their work.
"Latin artists deserve respect, they make great music," Snoop Dogg said. "So it’s overdue, it’s long overdue, and I’m happy that a lot of artists are working with them because they make great music and it’s about time for the world to know that."