The singer-songwriter who famously declared that “no one is illegal on stolen land” now faces pushback from people who appear to be taking her statement literally.
Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, won the “Song of the Year” Grammy Award for their hit “Wildflower” Sunday, and Eilish used her speech to condemn the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge to Minneapolis.
“No one is illegal on stolen land,” she declared. Her later remarks revealed the clear connection to immigration issues. “We need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting,” she added. “F— ICE!”
The statements connect two leftist ideas: that illegal immigrants should not face deportation despite breaking the law to enter the country, and that the U.S. government effectively stole land from Native American tribes.
Her remarks come after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, at the hands of immigration agents, and the anti-ICE invasion of a church in the middle of a service that drew further attention to the ICE surge in Minneapolis.
If No One Is Illegal, What About Trespassers?
While many on the Left celebrated Eilish’s remarks, others appear to have taken her statement as an invitation.
“I am flying to the USA next Friday to attempt to move into Billie Eilish’s beachside Malibu mansion,” Australian influencer Drew Pavlou announced on X. He launched a crowdfunding effort to support his travel expenses, but GoFundMe deleted it.
“Your fundraiser has been removed because we’re unable to verify your connection and plan to transfer donations to the person you’re raising money for,” the company sent in an email explaining the campaign’s deletion.
His second campaign, launched on GiveSendGo, has raised nearly 75% of its goal.
About the ‘Stolen Land’ Claim
Pavlou sought to squat in a mansion located in the greater Los Angeles Basin, the ancestral territory of the Tongva Native American tribe. The tribe celebrated Eilish’s “stolen land” claim but suggested that she should directly name the “true” owners of the land.
“Eilish has not contacted our tribe directly regarding her property,” a spokesperson for the Tongva tribe told The Daily Mail. However, the spokesperson added, “we do value the instance when public figures provide visibility to the true history of this country.”
“It is our hope that in future discussions, the tribe can explicitly be referenced to ensure the public understands that the greater Los Angeles Basin remains Gabrieleno Tongva territory,” the tribe representative concluded.
Much of the discussion of Eilish’s mansion is hypothetical, however, since her brother, Finneas O’Connell, sold the beachfront property for $5.6 million in 2022, according to the Los Angeles Times. The building then burned down in the Palisades Fire last year, the New York Post reported.
Eilish reportedly lives in an equestrian ranch in Glendale, California, which would still be part of the Tongva’s ancestral land.
The post The Fallout From Billie Eilish’s Grammy Awards Speech appeared first on The Daily Signal.
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