Billie Eilish has never been shy about speaking her mind, but at WSJ Magazine‘s 2025 Innovator Awards, she put her money where her mouth is while calling out the world’s billionaires — some of whom were in the room.
At the event in New York City on Wednesday (Oct. 29), Stephen Colbert presented the pop star with the publication’s music innovator award. Before Eilish took the stage, the late-night host also announced that the guest of honor had raised a whopping $11.5 million for organizations addressing food insecurity and climate change through her ongoing Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour.
Eilish then took the podium to accept the honor, looking out at a room of supremely wealthy and powerful guests — including Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg, whose Forbes-estimated net worth of $228 billion makes him the fifth richest man on the planet. “People need empathy and help in our country,” the nine-time Grammy winner said in her remarks.
She proceeded to deliver a blunt call to action directly to the heavy hitters in the room. “I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and give it to some people that need it,” Eilish told the crowd. “Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?”
“No hate, but give your money away, shorties,” she added.
Billboard has reached out to Meta for comment.
The event took place on the same day Eilish’s interview with WSJ Magazine went live online. In addition to opening up about touring life and revealing that she almost scrapped one of her biggest hits to date from album Hit Me Hard and Soft, the two-time Oscar winner told the publication about her passion for the environment.
“You can literally make all the same s–t with sustainable materials, and people just aren’t doing it,” she said of the fashion industry in particular. “The main thing that I’ve learned in working with so many companies and making my own merch and my perfume is that everyone can actually do it. It’s just that mostly they don’t.”
Eilish’s $11.5 million donation will be funneled into her Changemaker Program, which benefits organizations working to address world hunger and environmental issues. Beyond raising money through her tour, the singer also provides plant-based food options at her shows, uses biodegradable confetti during her set, sells merch made out of recycled cotton and encourages fans to bring reusable water bottles and take public transport to the venues at which she plays.
She’s also previously called out wastefulness in the music industry specifically. “I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable,” Eilish told Billboard in 2024. “And then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f–king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more.”
