Billie Eilish has never been the type to sit politely in the corner, and she’s made that painfully clear again this week, calling out her ‘fellow celebrities’ for staying silent as Minneapolis reels from deadly violence involving ICE.
In a Monday morning (Jan. 26) Instagram Story post, Eilish shared a photo of herself staring into the camera with the kind of exhausted disbelief that doesn’t need explaining. Across the image, she wrote: “hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up?”, as reported by Billboard.
The post comes in the wake of the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed on Saturday (Jan. 24) during an immigration enforcement operation.
The Trump administration has claimed the officer acted in self-defence, alleging Pretti was threatening violence with his handgun, but multiple witness videos from the scene reportedly show Pretti did not appear to be holding the gun during the confrontation, and that a federal agent had seemingly already removed it from his holster before he was shot.
Pretti’s family has also said the 37 year old Minneapolis man, an ICU nurse, had a legal permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota.
Eilish reshared posts about Pretti’s killing, while also amplifying the furious response from her brother and longtime collaborator Finneas, who didn’t mince words.
In a video Eilish reposted, he said:
“The conservative argument that allows school shootings to continue has always basically boiled down to, ‘We have to protect the Second Amendment,’” before adding: “Every argument I’ve seen for why Alex Pretti’s death was justified yesterday is like, ‘Well he had a gun.’”
Finneas then erupted: “Shut the f–k up!” and continued:
“This guy was being beaten to a pulp on the ground. He didn’t draw his weapon. He had a weapon on him legally. And they still shot the f–k out of him!”
Outspoken against ICE’s presence
Eilish and Finneas have both been outspoken against ICE’s continued presence in Minneapolis, which has now reportedly led to two civilian deaths.
Weeks earlier, Renee Good was also shot and killed by an ICE agent in the city, with authorities similarly claiming self-defence while witness footage reportedly contradicted that narrative.
Eilish previously warned:
“We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped, peaceful protesters being assaulted and murdered, our civil rights being stripped,” adding many Americans “no longer feel safe in our own homes or in our streets.”
Olivia Rodrigo also spoke out, writing: “ICEs actions are unconscionable but we are not powerless,” and: “our actions matter. I stand with Minnesota.”
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