Billie Eilish says her upbriging is the root of her activism: “I was raised like this”
Billie Eilish has spoken out about her reasons for advocating on global issues, saying she was “raised” to use her “insane platform” to do so.
The singer was speaking in the new Elle cover story for May 2026, ahead of the release of her new concert film from the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, directed by legendary filmmaker James Cameron.
However, away from the bright lights of the stage and silver screen, Eilish opened up about her need to take on an activist’s stance in the current music and entertainment landscape, explaining why it is particularly important to her.
When asked why she takes part in activism, Eilish said: “I was raised like this,” before questioning why other celebrities don’t follow her, “When you have this insane platform that you can use to advocate for people, but you’re not advocating for people because you don’t want to be controversial?”
Alongside her artistry, Eilish has become known for speaking out on behalf of various different causes, including making a powerful speech at this year’s Grammys where she called out ICE, saying, “No one is illegal on stolen land”.
Most notably, she also donated $11.5 million of the profits from the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, reportedly almost a quarter of her total wealth, to charities helped under The Changemaker Program, which aids organisations fighting food insecurity and the climate crisis.
At the time when she announced this last October, she also used her speech at the WSJ Innovator Awards to call out billionaires attending the ceremony, including Mark Zuckerberg, to “give your money away, shorties.”
Ultimately, Eilish said in the Elle interview that her reasons for doing this were simple, in her mind. “Why is it controversial to step in when someone’s getting bullied and try to stop it?”, she said.
The singer added: “Yeah, you’re probably gonna have to deal with some problems, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”
The film Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) will be released in cinemas on May 8th.
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