In the wake of the U.S. political environment, Billie Eilish was expected to deliver a speech addressing polarization at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
True to her activist stance, the musician, after winning Song of the Year, did just that. She called out ICE or Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their actions, saying, “No one is illegal on stolen land.”
But Bill Maher was not a fan of her speech. On his late-night show, Real Time with Bill Maher, he slams the Grammy winner for not knowing about facts.
Maher picked apart a transcript of Eilish’s speech, which began with the singer saying, “It’s hard to know what to say.”
“Then, don’t say anything, ‘cause you don’t know things,” he calls out to Eilish after she began her speech, saying, “It’s hard to know what to say.”
“You didn’t go to school, I don’t think, and you don’t know facts,” says the host. But he did not stop there.
He appears to mock Eilish for her credibility in speaking on immigration. “What’s the practical next step if you say there is no such thing as illegal people on stolen land?” the 70-year-old asks, “Do we just go back to living in teepees?”
Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor, similarly condemns the Wildflower hitmaker’s anti-ICE speech.
“The fact is, it’s a complicated history,” he says while appearing on the Real Time with Bill Maher panel.
“People got screwed along the way. Yes, we agree with that,” Christie continues. “But if what we’re going to do today is say these pronouncements and then have no real solution behind that pronouncement, it’s all bull****.”
Meanwhile, Eilish’s speech is part of her broader activism for what she describes as just causes.
