Marriage equality takes center stage at the Grammy Awards

There are some important nuptials happening on television tonight, and no, we’re not talking about the Bachelor wedding.

Thirty-four couples—of varying race, age, and sexual orientation—will be married on stage during the Grammy Awards. The group ceremony will take place during a performance of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s hit song “Same Love,” which has become something of an anthem for those who support marriage equality.

While the moment is expected to be a star-studded and moving tribute to love (Queen Latifah will officiate), not everyone is happy.

That’s because some see the last-minute move to include Madonna as a featured performer as upstaging Mary Lambert. She’s a Seattle musician and LGBT activist who cowrote the song and provides vocals on the original version. (It seems she’ll still be performing, though.)

macklemore dropping the actual queer musician from "same love" so madonna can sing the hook instead is so comically apt

— bae leaf (@randlechris) January 26, 2014

Also adding to the controversy, of course, are the people who are flat-out against same-sex marriage.

Heads up: Grammy telecast to feature sodomy-based wedding ceremonies. http://t.co/pbdVOkYuG8

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) January 26, 2014

“I expect that people with all kinds of opinions might voice them, and that’s healthy,” Neil Portnow, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, told the New York Times.

In any case, Madonna has already expressed her thoughts about her role in the imminent love-in.

"We are a Democracy and we should have the freedom to choose who we want to marry" - @Madonna

— Madonna (@Madonna_Quote) January 26, 2014

H/T New York Times | Photo by Mattz27/Flickr