Billie Eilish calls out ‘fellow celebs’ for staying silent on ICE

Billie Eilish has called out her fellow celebrities for their silence amid ongoing ICE raids in the US.

Over the past few weeks, Minneapolis has been rocked by two fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents. On January 7, ICE officers killed 37‑year‑old Renee Nicole Good during a street encounter, and later in the month, Department of Homeland Security personnel fatally shot 37‑year‑old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, during a federal enforcement action that has sparked national outrage and calls for accountability.

The Donald Trump administration claimed the officer was acting in self-defence, though various eyewitness accounts and footage appear to dispute this.

Now, the nine-time Grammy winner took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (26 January) with a series of Instagram Stories, resharing posts about the death of Pretti, along with a selfie asking why celebrities remain quiet on the issue.

"hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or? [sic]" she penned to her 125 million Instagram followers.

Billie Eilish/Instagram Stories

Billie's brother Finneas also shared videos on his Instagram, which she later reshared.

"The conservative argument that allows school shootings to continue has always basically boiled down to, 'We have to protect the Second Amendment,'" the singer shared in the self-recorded clip. "Every argument I’ve seen for why Alex Pretti’s death was justified yesterday is like, 'Well he had a gun.'"

This isn't the first time Billie has been vocal about important issues.

The singer, who recently pledged to donate $11.5 million to environmental organisations through The Changemaker Program from her sold-out Hit Me Hard and Soft tour, received the MLK Jr. Beloved Community Award for Environmental Justice last week.

During her acceptance speech, she said she didn't feel deserving, sharing: "We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped, peaceful protesters being assaulted and murdered, our civil rights being stripped, resources to fight the climate crisis being cut for fossil fuels and animal agriculture destroying our planet, and people’s access to food and health care becoming a privilege for the wealthy instead of a new basic human right for all Americans."

She continued: "It is very clear that protecting our planet and our communities is not a priority for this administration. And it’s really hard to celebrate that when we no longer feel safe in our own homes or in our streets."

You should also read...

• Billie Eilish condemns ICE's actions under Trump administration in latest award speech
• FBI Director's claims about Alex Pretti's killing are instantly community-noted for being wrong

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.