Billie Eilish used her speech at the 2025 Wall Street Journal Innovator Awards to call on billionaires to donate. Her appeal for empathy is attracting attention worldwide.
The Grammy winner accepted the award in the Music Innovator category at the 2025 Wall Street Journal Innovator Awards at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City on October 29, and used her speech to call on billionaires to do more for those in need. The event recognizes industry leaders who are setting new standards in their respective disciplines. Eilish has been committed to animal rights and climate justice for years, and took to the stage to emphasize the importance of empathy from society’s wealthiest members.
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Direct address to billionaires in the room
Once on stage, the Oscar winner wasted no time. She explained that the world is currently in a “bad” and “bleak” state and “compassion and help” are needed more than ever. She asked the wealthy audience to “put their money to good use” and give it to people who desperately need it.
See Billie Eilish’s appeal here:
The songwriter then turned to the billionaires in the room, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg: “I like all of you, but some here have significantly more money than me.” For the next part of her speech, she brought the microphone closer to her mouth and asked the room: “If you are billionaires, why are you billionaires?” She ended her appeal by saying: “Spend your money, shorties.”
Eilish donates profits from her tour to charities
That same evening, talk show host Stephen Colbert announced that the singer would donate $11.5 million, the equivalent of almost ten million euros, from her “Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour” to charities that promote food justice and climate protection. The current tour started in September 2025 and served to promote the pop superstar’s third studio album of the same name.
See Stephen Colbert’s donation announcement here:
It’s not the first time that Billie Eilish has used her fame to support a good cause. As part of the tour, the artist worked with the non-profit organization Reverb to make her live performances more sustainable. To this end, so-called “eco-villages” were set up at concerts to educate fans about reducing their carbon footprint. The singer also introduced a vegan catering policy at various tour stops – local providers were required to only offer plant-based alternatives during their performances.