Billie Eilish slams 'All Lives Matter' in post on George Floyd’s death, gets praised for good use of platform
George Floyd’s death, the matter of police brutality, and the subsequent protests (that have turned violent) have resulted in a lot of celebrities expressing their opinions online. Among them was pop star Billie Eilish, who shared a passionate message around white privilege.
In a lengthy post on Instagram, Eilish wrote on Saturday, May 30, “I’ve been trying to take this week to figure out a way to address this delicately. I have an enormous platform and I try really hard to be respectful and take time to think through what I say and how I say it… but holy s*** I’m just gonna start talking.”
She wrote about #AllLivesMatter, a slogan that emerged as a rebuttal to the Black Lives Matter movement. Critics of the slogan have often argued that #AllLivesMatter deliberately ignores systemic racism, and proponents of it misunderstand what the BLM movement stands for.
In that vein, Eilish said, “If I hear one more white person say ‘All Lives Matter’ one more f****** time I’m gonna lose my f****** mind. Will you shut the f*** up? No one is saying your life doesn’t matter. No one is saying your life is not hard. No one is saying literally anything at all about you… all you MFs do is find a way to make everything about yourself. This is not about you.”
She explained her point with examples and analogies. “If your friend gets a cut on their arm are you gonna wait to give all your friends a bandaid first because all arms matter? No, you’re gonna help your friend because they are in pain because they are in need because they are bleeding!” Eilish said. “If someone’s house was on fire and someone is stuck in the house, are you gonna make the fire department go to every other house on the block first because all houses matter? No! Because they don’t f****** need it.”
Eilish ended her post with, “If all lives matter why are black people killed for just being black? Why are immigrants persecuted? Why are white people given opportunities that people of other races aren’t? Why is it okay for white people to protest literally being asked to stay at home while carrying semi-automatic weapons? Why is it okay for black people to be called thugs for protesting the murder of innocent people? Do you know why? White. F******. Privilege.”
Eilish’s statement has received widespread praise. Many on social media appreciated her recognition of white privilege. A Twitter user wrote, “Billie Eilish, an 18-year-old, using her platform correctly and wisely. This is how you use your platform as a public figure. This is how you spread awareness.”
“Imagine if all the other celebrities spoke up like how Billie did? To use their platform to speak up about this issue instead of tagging 10 people on Instagram or tweet about it once and call it a day,” wrote another.
Several Twitter users compared Eilish’s statement to that of Trump. “Billie Eilish, an 18-year-old, is more educated than the President of the United States. Our own President. The President that is supposed to run this country. Let that sink in,” said a Twitter user.
On Friday, May 29, Trump had said about the protests that had broken out, “These thugs are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”