Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas claps back at ‘old white men’ after anti-ICE speech
Finneas has clapped back at Billie Eilish’s haters after her anti-ICE speech. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Finneas, the brother of Billie Eilish, has clapped back at “very powerful old white men” who are angry at his sister’s anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) speech at the Grammys.
On Sunday (1 February) Eilish and Finneas won the Song of the Year award for “Wildflower” from Eilish’s album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. Collectively the brother-sister pair have won 10 Grammys together.
Taking to the stage to collect the award Eilish and Finneas both wore ‘ICE Out’ badges before the “bad guy” singer called out ICE, which has come under increased scrutiny after federal immigration agents killed two US citizens – Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti – in Minneapolis, Minnesota in January.
A federal officer fatally shot Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, on 24 January. Good, also 37, was shot on 7 January.
“We just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, the people matter,” Eilish said during her speech before adding: “F*** ICE!”
While not the only person to call out ICE at the Grammys, Eilish has come under more scrutiny herself. US Senator Ted Cruz referenced her during a Senate hearing on the Netflix-Warner Bros Discovery merger. Regarding the enthusiastic response Eilish received at the awards ceremony Cruz said: “You see entertainers leap to their feet, clapping so excitedly at the notion that America is fundamentally illegitimate, it starts to convey that the entertainment world is deeply corrupt.”
People have roasted Emily Austin, a MAGA influencer and journalist after she shared her response to Eilish’s speech.
Responding to Cruz and others on Threads on Thursday (5 February) Finneas wrote: “Seeing a lot of very powerful old white men outraged about what my 24-year-old sister said during her acceptance speech. We can literally see your names in the Epstein files.” So far Cruz’s name has not been mentioned in the Epstein files that have been released.
Finneas later responded to an opinion piece from USA Today calling for artists to stay out of politics. The Oscar-winning producer posted on Threads: “You just can’t do both. You can’t say it doesn’t matter what musicians or celebrities say or think but then talk about it for days. You’re out here making it matter. I’ll keep speaking up especially if it keeps bothering you.”
As someone observed in the responses to Finneas’ later post: “Trump literally was just a celebrity before he became a politician. Lmao.” LMAO indeed.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
