Billie Eilish has added to the growing list of artists who have spoken out following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in the US last week.
Floyd, 46, was an African American man who died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes as he lay on the ground. The incident has since led to widespread protests, and Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Eilish took to Instagram over the weekend to share an impassioned post to her 63 million followers in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Eilish rebuked the contrarian “all lives matter” refrain and outlined white privilege, saying she felt compelled to use her “enormous platform” for good.
“IF I HEAR ONE MORE WHITE PERSON SAY ‘aLL liVeS maTtEr’ ONE MORE FUCKING TIME IM GONNA LOSE MY FUCKING MIND. WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP???? NO ONE ELSE IS SAYING YOUR LIFE DOESNT MATTER. NO ONE IS SAYING YOUR LIFE IS NOT HARD,” says Eilish in the post.
“THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. STOP MAKING EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. YOU ARE NOT IN NEED. YOU ARE NOT IN DANGER.”
Eilish goes on to explain the flaws of the “all lives matter” argument, saying, “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.”
“If someones house was on fire & 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 FUCKING NEED IT.”
Eilish then breaks down the concept of white privilege, pointing out the way “SOCIETY GIVES YOU PRIVILEGE JUST FOR BEING WHITE”.
“IF ALL LIVES MATTER WHY ARE BLACK PEOPLE KILLED FOR JUST BEING BLACK?”, she continues.
You can read the whole post for yourself above.
Eilish is one of many artists, including Chance the Rapper, Janelle Monáe, Sia, Ice Cube and Beyoncé, who have used their platform to call for justice in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Image: Kevin Mazur/Getty
