Billie Eilish slams Donald Trump and ICE at awards show: ‘We don’t feel safe’
Billie Eilish. (Getty)
Billie Eilish. (Getty)
Billie Eilish has slammed President Trump and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a new speech.
The “bad guy” singer collected the 2026 MLK Jr. Beloved Community Environmental Justice Award presented by the King Center on Saturday (17 January) at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta.
Oscar-winner Viola Davis, former Atlanta Falcons star Warrick Dunn and Gloria James were among other awards recipients from the night.
Taking to the stage to collect her award, Eilish said she didn’t feel “deserving”. She also said it felt “very strange” to be recognised for her work on climate justice when she said “it feels less achievable than ever given the state of our country and the world right now”.
Last October, Eilish announced she was donating $11.5 million (£8.5 million) earned from her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour to food equity and climate justice organisations.
Referencing ICE’s campaign of raids over the last year or so, Eilish continued: “We’re seeing our neighbours being kidnapped, peaceful protesters being assaulted and murdered, our civil rights being stripped.”
After the shooting of Renee Nicole Good earlier this month, Eilish shared social media posts calling ICE a “terrorist group”. Trump’s administration then lambasted the singer for her “garbage rhetoric”.
The “Birds of a Feather” singer then decried the cutting of resources to combat climate change, the destruction wrought by animal agriculture, as well as “people’s access to food and healthcare becoming a privilege for the wealthy instead of a new basic human right for all Americans”.
Setting Trump and his administration in her sights, Eilish went on to say: “It is very clear that protecting our planet and our communities are not a priority for this administration. And it’s really hard to celebrate that when we no longer feel safe in our own homes or in our streets.”
The Grammy and Oscar winner then injected a sense of hope into her speech. “I’m grateful to everyone and for the huge community of people who are taking action centered on Dr. King’s message,” she said before thanking her parents for “raising me the way they did”.
Finally, she said: “I have this platform and I think it’s my responsibility to use it, so I feel like I’m just doing what anyone in my position should be doing.”
The comments are the latest from the singer who has spoken out about injustices in the world over the last few months.
Last October, the 23-year-old accepted the Music Innovator Award at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards. She used her acceptance speech to draw attention to the wealth disparity between those present and the lives of other people across the world.
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