A Native American tribe that owns the land on which Billie Eilish’s mansion is located has issued a statement following the singer’s Grammy comments about ‘stolen land’ and ICE.
After receiving a Grammy for her popular song Wildflower on Sunday, February 1, Eilish used her acceptance speech to address the issue of immigration. This led to varied reactions from her audience, including fans and fellow celebrities.
Standing beside her brother and collaborator, Finneas, Eilish proclaimed: “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.”
Her statement referred to the historical colonization of America, where European settlers took over land from the indigenous peoples, now referred to as Native Americans, starting in the late 15th century.
Following her remarks at the event held in Los Angeles, California’s Crypto.com Arena, there have been calls for her to return her $3 million LA property.
Eric Daugherty, a political commentator, suggested on X that Eilish should ‘return her mansion’ to the Tongva tribe, whose ancestral lands include her property.
Daugherty stated: “Americans are calling on Hollywood elitist Billie Eilish to RETURN her $14M LA mansion to the Tongva tribe after she claimed, ‘no one is illegal on stolen land’.
“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.”
A spokesperson for the Tongva tribe has since responded to The Daily Mail, aiming to ‘clarify’ Eilish’s statement.
The tribe commented: “We appreciate the opportunity to provide clarity regarding the recent comments made by Billie Eilish.
“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.”
The tribe indicated they have reached out to Eilish’s team to ‘express our appreciation for her comments’.
They further stated: “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’s comments follow Eilish’s further remarks on stage, where she acknowledged the difficulty in knowing the right words or actions at present.
“I just 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,” she added.
“And f**k ICE, that’s all I’m gonna say. Sorry!”
In recent times, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been a polarizing entity due to immigration raids and incidents such as the Minneapolis shootings, which resulted in the deaths of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Representatives for Eilish had been contacted for comment.