The 2025 Grammys are here, and the award ceremony has everyone talking. Fans are wondering if Taylor Swift might be making Grammy history with a six-time win for album of the year, and they’re loving Sabrina Carpenter’s performance (although maybe not that controversial moment). Then there are those questioning just why Marla Maples is there. Yes, Maples, who is, of course, Donald Trump’s second ex-wife. We didn’t have that on our 2025 bingo card, especially considering all the political drama that has happened in the past weeks with Trump as president. From tariffs to ICE raids, some of Trump’s actions were even brought up in the opening monologue by Grammys host Trevor Noah. That almost seemed inevitable, so we can’t understand why someone like Maples would want to be in attendance. The audience is also made up of plenty of people who publicly supported Kamala Harris in the last election; we don’t know everyone’s political leanings, of course, but we do know that quite a few celebs there did support the former vice president– Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, John Legend, and more — and Maples publicly declared her support for Trump in the election. Long story short, this doesn’t seem like Maples’ regular crowd.
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Some people watching think it was a particularly bad time for anyone connected to Trump to be somewhere like the Grammys. A person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote, “This year’s grammys celebrating queer artists in the face of rising fascism meanwhile they have kanye and marla maples in attendance.”
Marla Maples almost certainly didn’t get a direct Grammys invite
Marla Maples doesn’t seem to have any connection to the music industry. Tiffany Trump did have a short-lived moment as a pop musician back when she was in high school, so maybe that’s why Maples is there? Or perhaps Maples is showing Melania Trump just how glamorous life can be without Donald? We really can’t figure it out.
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After a little digging, it turns out that it’s unlikely that Maples herself was invited, but rather that she’s a plus one. She was pictured on the red carpet with Ricky Kej, a composer from India who’s won three Grammys. He noted on his LinkedIn in 2024 that Maples was a “dear friend,” adding, “We can talk for hours about everything under the sun and beyond!”
Not only was Maples’ presence confusing and irritating to some, but her look also wasn’t that great. She made at least one worst-dressed list, with the Daily Mail writing, “The tailoring of the dress appeared to be ill-fitting and the fabric wrinkled as soon as she stepped on the carpet.” Maples has been to the Grammys before — she and Donald went in 1994.
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