A Chilean singer staged a topless protest on the Latin Grammy Awards red carpet Thursday night — railing against a brutal police response to civil uprisings in her country that have left 20 people dead and another 200 blind.
Songstress Mon Laferte, 36, arrived at the awards ceremony in Las Vegas in a trench coat that she removed to reveal a political message decrying violence in the country that she had written across her bare breasts.
“En Chile torturan violan y matan,” Laferte wrote across her chest — which translates to “In Chile they torture, rape and kill.”
Anti-government protests have rocked the South American country in recent weeks as protesters demand social reforms and a change to the constitution, which currently does not establish the government’s responsibility to provide heath care and education, the BBC reported Friday.
At least 20 people have died in the protests since they were sparked last month by a demonstration against a hike in subway fares. Hundreds more have been blinded after being hit with rubber bullets used by police to quash the uprising.
Laferte later scooped the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album and kept her trench coat buttoned up as she dedicated the win to Chile.