3mo ago

Billie Eilish on why she speaks out on global issues: "Why is it controversial to step in when someone’s getting bullied & try to stop it?“

Context

Eilish has a fierce rebel spirit. Upon accepting her latest Grammy Award in February, she riled up conservative politicians and commentators when she spoke out against the escalating ICE raids, stating, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” And when she appeared at the WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards in October, she openly challenged billionaires in the room, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas, to part with some of their wealth. “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?” she asked the crowd. “People need empathy and help more than ever. Especially in our country.…If you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.” Her speech wasn’t just lip service. That same night, it was announced that she had pledged $11.5 million of the revenue from her last tour, which reportedly amounts to a little less than a quarter of her net worth, to multiple charities and organizations. (She raised the money by selling special “Changemaker” tickets to fans who wished to pay a little extra to help combat food inequality and the climate crisis.)

“I was raised like this,” explains Eilish of her comfort with speaking out. “When you have this insane platform that you can use to advocate for people, but you’re not advocating for people because you don’t want to be controversial?” she says, petting Shark as he snoozes peacefully in the seat between us. “Why is it controversial to step in when someone’s getting bullied and try to stop it? Yeah, you’re probably gonna have to deal with some problems, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”

Interview by ELLE, April 28, 2026.