Billie Eilish used an acceptance speech at a Martin Luther King Jr. event to do something pop stars rarely attempt in front of a black-tie crowd: accuse a federal agency of terrorizing communities and describe what she called neighbors being “kidnapped” in the streets. Her remarks, aimed squarely at ICE and at President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, turned a celebration of her activism into a pointed indictment of how the United States is treating protesters and immigrants.
In a few minutes onstage, the singer moved from gratitude to a blistering description of peaceful demonstrators she said were being assaulted, murdered, and disappeared into unmarked vehicles. The speech instantly ricocheted across social media and cable news, not just because Billie Eilish is one of the biggest names in Pop, but because she framed the abuses she sees as a moral emergency that ordinary Americans are passively watching unfold next door.
From MLK honor to full-throated denunciation
Billie Eilish was onstage to accept the Beloved Community Award For Environmental Justice, part of a broader MLK Jr. celebration that recognized her climate and racial justice work. Instead of sticking to a safe script, she pivoted quickly to immigration enforcement, saying that in the United States she loves, she is “seeing our neighbors being kidnapped” and “peaceful protestors being assaulted and murdered,” language that directly challenged the conduct of ICE and other security forces. Reports on the event note that she explicitly denounced ICE while accepting the MLK-linked honor, tying immigration raids and protest crackdowns to the civil rights legacy she was there to celebrate.
In her telling, the abuses are not distant or abstract. She described Americans watching “their neighbours being kidnapped” and insisted that “our civil rights [are] being stripped” in real time, a framing echoed in coverage that quotes her warning that this is happening “in our country” right now. One account of the speech highlights how she referred to “kidnapped” protesters during the award moment, making clear that she was not only talking about immigration arrests but also about demonstrators swept off the streets during protests, a line that appeared to directly target protest operations that have alarmed civil liberties groups.
“We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped”
The core of her speech rested on a stark, repeated image: neighbors disappearing into the machinery of the state. In multiple accounts, Billie Eilish is quoted as saying, “We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped, peaceful protestors being assaulted and murdered,” a formulation that collapses immigration raids, street-level violence, and protest policing into a single crisis. One detailed write-up of Billie Eilish Speaks Out frames the line “Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped, Peaceful Protestors Being Assaulted and Murdered” as the emotional center of her remarks, underscoring how she linked personal fear to systemic abuse in a way that is unusual for a mainstream pop star at a formal awards event.
Her language about “assaulted and murdered” protesters was not a throwaway flourish. Another report on the same speech notes that Billie Eilish told the audience that protesters are being “assaulted and murdered” in the United States and the world right now, a claim that she connected to a broader rollback of rights and safety. That framing is echoed in coverage that quotes her warning that “we’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped” and that “our civil rights [are] being stripped,” with one political analysis of Billie Eilish Speaks Out emphasizing the full phrase “Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped, Peaceful Protestors Being Assaulted and Murdered” as a deliberate, repeated refrain rather than an offhand comment.
Calling out ICE and President Donald Trump
Billie Eilish did not leave her target vague. She named ICE directly, accusing the agency of actions that, in her view, amount to state-sanctioned violence against immigrants and demonstrators. One account of the event describes how she denounced ICE in her Acceptance Speech, repeating that “We’re Seeing Our Neighbours Being Kidnapped” and tying that to a pattern of raids and protest crackdowns that she believes violate the spirit of the civil rights movement. Another report on her remarks at the MLK awards similarly stresses that Billie Eilish denounces ICE at MLK, saying Americans are watching their neighbours being kidnapped, a formulation that casts the public not just as victims but as witnesses who risk complicity through silence.
She also explicitly linked those abuses to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Coverage of the Beloved Community Award For Environmental Justice notes that on Saturday she called out President Donald Trump for his hard-line immigration policies while accepting the honor, using the platform to argue that the administration’s approach has empowered ICE to operate with impunity. A separate account of the same moment describes how Billie Eilish Calls Out ICE at the award show, repeating the line “We’re Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped” as she criticized the president’s stance. In political analysis of Billie Eilish Speaks Out, her comments about “Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped, Peaceful Protestors Being Assaulted and Murdered” are presented as a direct challenge to the Trump-era vision of law and order.
From Minnesota to the national stage
Her speech did not emerge in a vacuum. In the weeks leading up to the MLK event, Billie Eilish had already been criticizing specific enforcement actions, including an ICE operation in Minnesota that became a flashpoint after a woman named Good, age 37, was shot three times at point-blank range by Ross while she was driving away from him. A detailed report on that incident notes that it followed the Jan. 7 killing of Good, 37, by Ross, and describes how Billie Eilish blasts the ICE Minnesota operation while accepting the MLK Jr. justice award, tying the local tragedy to a broader pattern of federal and local force used against communities of color and immigrants.
Her broader critique of ICE’s role in protest crackdowns has also been documented in political coverage that quotes her saying, “We’re seeing our neighbors being kidnapped, peaceful protesters being assaulted and murdered, our civil rights being stripped” in our country, language that one analysis of her political comments presents as a sweeping indictment of how enforcement agencies have been deployed. Another summary of Billie Eilish Speaks Out repeats the same phrase “Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped, Peaceful Protestors Being Assaulted and Murdered,” reinforcing that she has been using consistent language across appearances to describe what she sees as a national emergency.
Backlash, support, and the stakes for celebrity activism
The reaction to her speech has been predictably polarized. One account of Billie Eilish Divides Fans With Latest Political Statement At Awards notes that her line “We’re Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped” at the ceremony drew both standing ovations and sharp criticism from fans who believe entertainers should avoid overt political commentary. Another entertainment-focused report describes how Billie Eilish says protesters are being “assaulted and murdered” during the award speech, quoting commentator Lindsay Kornick’s reaction and highlighting how the remarks became fodder for partisan debate about whether her description of events is fair.
At the same time, civil rights advocates and many of her younger fans have embraced the speech as a rare example of a major Pop figure using an awards stage to talk about ICE, MLK, and the lived reality of Americans who feel under siege. A social media post capturing the moment notes that billie eilish called out ICE and broader injustices during her acceptance speech for the MLK Jr. beloved community environmental justice award, pairing her words with a caption that reads, “Billie Eilish says enough is enough” and calls for action “TO MAKE OUR STREETS SAFER.” Other coverage of Billie Eilish Denounces ICE in Acceptance Speech, including music-focused analysis that quotes “Seeing Our Neighbours Being Kidnapped,” situates her remarks within a growing wave of artists who see climate justice, racial justice, and immigration policy as inseparable fights.
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