Billie Eilish took a moment out of her most recent concert to mourn Donald Trump’s historic 2024 presidential win and share her support with other women in the audience.
The singer, 22, was performing in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday (November 6) night, hours after Trump was declared the 47th president of the US.
In a fan-filmed video shared to TikTok, Eilish could be heard telling the crowd that she “couldn’t really fathom doing a show on this day.”
“But, the longer the day went on, I kind of had this feeling of like, it’s such a privilege that I get to do this with you guys and that we have this in a time like right now,” she said.
“I just love you so much, and I want you to know that you’re safe with me and you’re protected here and that you are safe in this room,” she continued. “And the song that we’re about to do is a song that my brother Finneas and I wrote many years ago, and it’s about the abuse that exists in this world upon women and a lot of the experiences that I have gone through and people I know have gone through. To tell you the truth, I’ve never met one single woman who doesn’t have a story of abuse. Not one.
“I’ve dealt with some stuff myself and I’ve been taken advantage of. My boundaries were crossed, to say it politely, and now a person who is a … let’s say convicted predator, let’s say that – god, my heart is beating fast – someone who hates women so, so deeply is about to be the president of the United States of America,” she added to loud boos from the audience.
The Independent has contacted Trump’s representatives for comment.
Last May, the former president was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation against author and journalist E Jean Carroll. The case was a civil suit, so Trump was not convicted of a crime but was ordered to pay Carroll $5m in damages. Over the course of his career, the new president-elect has been accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault, non-consensual touching and kissing. Trump has denied all the allegations.
“So, this song is for all the women out there. I love you, I support you,” Eilish concluded, going on to perform her song “TV” off her 2022 EP, Guitar Songs, which includes a reference to the overturning of Roe v Wade, a landmark decision that protected the right to have an abortion.
Shortly after the election was called in Trump’s favor, Eilish reacted to the news on Instagram, calling his victory “a war on women.”
Eilish and Finneas had previously been outspoken supporters of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. In September, the duo endorsed the Vice President in a bid to “protect our reproductive freedom, our planet and our democracy.”
The “What Was I Made For” singer urged followers to “vote like your life depends on it because it does.”