Billie Eilish took aim at the wealthy during her acceptance speech at The Wall Street Journal Magazine's Innovator Awards when she challenged billionaires to support those in need, saying, "Why are you a billionaire?"
The nine-time Grammy winner was honored with the outlet's Music Innovator Award during the Wednesday night ceremony, where "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert presented her with the prize.
Colbert noted that Eilish had raised $11.5 million through her "Hit Me Hard and Soft" tour to fund initiatives fighting food insecurity and climate change.
When Eilish took the stage, she addressed a crowd that included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose estimated $228 billion net worth places him among the richest people in the world.
"People need empathy and help in our country," she told the audience before turning her attention to the ultra-wealthy.
"I'd say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and give it to some people that need it," she said. "Love you all, but there's a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?"
Eilish closed her remarks, saying, "No hate, but give your money away, shorties."
Her speech came the same day WSJ Magazine published a profile in which Eilish discussed her ongoing push for sustainability in both music and fashion.
"You can literally make all the same s**t with sustainable materials, and people just aren't doing it," she said. "The main thing that I've learned in working with so many companies and making my own merch and my perfume is that everyone can actually do it. It's just that mostly they don't."
The $11.5 million raised through her tour will go toward Eilish's Changemaker Program, which supports organizations addressing hunger and environmental issues.
Her tour also focuses on sustainability, offering plant-based food options, selling merchandise made from recycled materials, using biodegradable confetti, and encouraging fans to bring reusable bottles and take public transit to shows.
Eilish previously spoke out about excess and waste in the music industry in a 2024 interview with Billboard.
"I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable," she said at the time. "And then it's some of the biggest artists in the world making f***ing 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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