RL 💥 “Give Your Money Away, Shorties!” — Billie Eilish Calls Out Billionaires in Fiery Speech at WSJ Innovator Awards
Pop superstar Billie Eilish turned the elegant Wall Street Journal Innovator Awards in New York City into a moment of moral reckoning — urging the world’s richest to stop hoarding their wealth and start helping those in need.
Standing before an audience filled with tech moguls and entertainment titans — including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas — Eilish delivered a blunt, heartfelt plea:
“We’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark,” she said. “People need empathy and help more than ever — especially in our country.”
The 22-year-old singer had just been introduced by Stephen Colbert, who revealed that Eilish would donate $11.5 million from her Hit Me Hard and Soft world tour profits to causes focused on food equity, climate justice, and carbon reduction.
When Eilish took the stage at the Museum of Modern Art, her words hit harder than expected. With a polite smile — and unmistakable edge — she turned her message directly to the billionaires in the room.
“Love you all, but there are a few people here who have a lot more money than me,” she said, earning scattered applause. “And if you’re a billionaire… why are you a billionaire? No hate — but give your money away, shorties.”
Her challenge came at a time when global inequality continues to widen. According to Oxfam International’s 2024 report “Takers Not Makers,” the world added 204 new billionaires last year alone — even as millions struggle with food insecurity and rising living costs.
Eilish’s remarks — equal parts compassion and confrontation — spread quickly across social media, with fans hailing her as “the voice of conscience in a room full of power.”
As one attendee whispered afterward: “She said what everyone else was too scared to.”
