Grammys Go Political as Billie Eilish’s Speech Triggers Backlash

This year, the Grammy Awards have become an all-out political show rather than an award show. Artists receiving awards were openly criticizing the current US government and the recent deportation actions taken by federal authorities.

Be it Bad Bunny, who won Album of the Year, Kehlani for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance, or Billie Eilish winning Best Song of the Year, all of them were vocal during their speeches against the current Trump regime. Slogans like ‘f**k ICE’ and ‘ICE OUT!’ were being shouted during this award show.

Billie Eilish’s speech gained virality, where she was seen saying, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” This was clearly a political statement. After the formation of the new Trump government in 2025, mass deportations are taking place, and debates are also happening about who is a real American and who is ethnically American. This statement by Billie Eilish, made while she received her award, received both appreciation and widespread backlash.

Although her speech was clearly pro-immigration and against the idea of ‘White Americans’ being the true ethnic Americans, her own mansion is supposedly built on the land of the Tongva Tribe (a Native American tribe).

Billie Eilish has a $3 million mansion built on ancestral land of the Tongva Tribe. The Tongva Tribe (also known as the Gabrielino) are the Indigenous inhabitants and traditional caretakers of the Los Angeles Basin. Their ancestral territory, known as Tovaangar, spans the greater Los Angeles area, including 4,000 square miles.

Billie Eilish allegedly never asked permission, nor has she ever taken any permission, nor paid any sort of commission. The Tongva people were one of the first to react to her Grammy Award speech statement: “Using a phrase like ‘stolen land’ has meaning and actual implications in the real world. Both Santa Monica and West Hollywood city council meetings each start with land acknowledgements that they are sitting on stolen land... It’s both empty virtue signaling and used as a weapon at the same time. It’s empty because no elected official is giving the land back to the Tongva, just like Billie Eilish is not going to get evicted, nor will she give her house back.”

The Tongva Tribe, through this statement, have clearly expressed the Native American sentiment that exists with regard to topics such as “stolen land” and “immigration.” They also shed some light on the legality surrounding the stolen land on which the mansion is built. They also said that it would have been better if she had referenced them by name and told the world who the real inhabitants of the LA Basin are.

Another statement was made on X by Sinai Law Firm, an LA-based law firm, which indirectly threatened her with an eviction notice.

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sinai Law Firm is offering to evict Billie Eilish from her Los Angeles home on a pro bono basis on behalf of the Tongva Tribe. Sinai Law Firm is the premier eviction firm in the county.”

This tweet by Sinai Law Firm was clearly meant to be a joke. They did this to, in a way, expose the hypocrisy of celebrities and the difference between giving opinions and taking action. They highlighted the legality of her mansion and what can realistically be done about it.

According to Sinai Law Firm, statements given by celebrities are empty and tend to ride on popular sentiment.

The LA law firm does raise a good point: actions matter more than just words.