How can you not celebrate Billie Eilish? At just 23 years old, the American singer and songwriter has nine Grammy Awards, two Oscar Awards and billions of views on streaming platforms. your title Birds of a featherfrom the album Hit me hard and softIt reached three billion streams on Spotify in record time. As many successes as the Wall Street Journal decided to dedicate during the WSJ Innovator Awards ceremony on October 29.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, Billie Eilish not only received this trophy. Accompanied by her mother Maggie Baird, the young woman also took advantage of her acceptance speech to launch a more personal and political message, commenting, in particular, on current American events.
“We live in a time when the world is really bad and people need empathy and help more than ever, especially in our country,” he told an audience that included Ben Stiller, Spike Lee and Hailey Bieber. The artist did not hesitate to appeal directly to the luckiest members of the public. Not without humor.
“I love you all, but there are some people here that have a lot more money than me and if they’re billionaires, why are they billionaires? No hate. Give your money, guys.”
It was host Stephen Colbert who announced that the singer would donate $11.5 million from the proceeds of her tour. Hit me hard and softto support food equity and the fight against the climate crisis. A gesture that is part of the continuity of his reflections on environmental issues.
A long-standing commitment
Since her beginnings, Billie Eilish has made ecology a central focus of her career. In a long portrait of Wall Street JournalThe artist revealed that in his concerts every detail was studied: biodegradable confetti, recycled cotton products, reusable water bottles. He works with the REVERB association to measure the carbon footprint of his tours and has already donated more than a million dollars to projects to reduce greenhouse gases.
“You can literally make the same things with sustainable materials, but people just don’t do it,” he confesses. The singer, vegan since she was twelve, even goes so far as to impose exclusively vegan menus in certain concert halls, convinced that just one meal a day without animal materials can have a considerable impact.
Billie Eilish’s commitments also come from her family. His mother, Maggie Baird, founded the Support + Feed association in 2020, which fights food insecurity while promoting a plant-based diet. The association has already distributed more than 1.5 million meals and basic necessities.
Source: BFM TV
