Billie Eilish Branded a 'Hypocrite' After Officiating Brother's Wedding on Historic Stolen Land

Billie Eilish officiated her brother Finneas' wedding on Saturday, 29th of August, but news of the festivities led social media users to call her a 'hypocrite' due to her comments at the Grammys earlier this year.

The venue for Finneas' wedding to Claudia Sulewski was in the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California. The area used to belong to a Native American tribe called the Chumash, who used to inhabit territory in California's coast spanning more than 7,000 miles, making Finneas' wedding celebrations happen on 'stolen land.'

Social media users were quick to revisit backlash against Eilish following news of her officiating the wedding, as she took a stance against the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during her acceptance speech.

'As grateful as I feel, I honestly don't feel like I need to say anything but that no one is illegal on stolen land,' she said while wearing an ICE badge. 'It's just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting, and speaking up, and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter, and f*** ICE is all I want to say, sorry.'

Billie Eilish Hounded For Being 'Hypocrite'

People on X hounded Eilish for having her brother's wedding on former Native American land, highlighting the irony of her comments at the Grammys. A user on X commented, 'Was this on stolen land?' Another said: 'Just another day in the life of the biggest hypocrite in Hollywood, Billie Eilish.'

Eilish was also subject to similar vitriol in the immediate aftermath of her Grammy speech, as she lives in a mansion that's built on the same stolen land in Greendale, California. The ranch-style home was previously owned by singer Leona Lewis.

'She could also graciously host illegal aliens in her mansion. After all, she has the moral high ground. Put up or shut the F up', one X user said.

Following the Grammys, an influencer took the accusations a step further by raising funds to forcibly move into Eilish's house. Australian political activist Drew Pavlou posted, 'I am flying to the USA next Friday to attempt to move into Billie Eilish's beachside Malibu mansion. No human being is illegal on stolen land. Support my travel and filming costs here.'

Pavlou launched a GoFundMe and raised over $3,000 (£2,226) before it was taken down. He then opened another on a similar site in an attempt to raise funds to travel to the site. It wasn't until later that it was revealed that the house he wanted to go to wasn't even Eilish's– it was her brother's. The activist did travel to the US, though, only to be denied entry at LAX following Eilish and her legal team notified the Department of Homeland Security.

This painted the viral moment in a pointless light, especially considering that Australia was also colonised and stolen from native people.

Indigenous People of California Address Backlash

Following the negative social media response to Eilish's comments at the Grammys, a spokesperson for the Tongva, the indigenous people of California, said, 'As the First People of the greater Los Angeles basin, we do understand that her home is situated in our ancestral land. Eilish has not contacted our tribe directly regarding her property, 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.' However, they did 'express appreciation' to Eilish for her comments against ICE.