Entertainment
Billie Eilish calls on billionaires to donate more of their wealth: “No hate, but give your money away, shorties”
Billie Eilish wants billionaires to donate more.
As the Grammy and Oscar winner accepted the music award at this year’s WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards on Wednesday night, she urged the ultra-wealthy to address more of the world’s issues.
“We’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark and people need empathy and help more than, kind of, ever, especially in our country,” Eilish said to an audience that included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, as well as “Star Wars” creator George Lucas. “I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.”
Late-night host Stephen Colbert introduced Eilish onstage at New York’s Museum of Modern Art by announcing that she would donate $11.5 million of the proceeds from her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to causes dedicated to food equity, climate justice and reducing carbon pollution.
Taylor Hill / Getty Images
In accepting the award, the “Bad Guy” singer added a polite but direct call to others in the room, saying a lot of people, especially in the U.S., could use some help right now.
“Love you all, but there’s a few people in here who have a lot more money than me,” she said, to a smattering of applause. “And if you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? And no hate, but give your money away, shorties.”
Through her Changemaker Program, Eilish has worked with the nonprofit Reverb for years on its Music Decarbonization Project and its Music Climate Revolution initiative, alongside artists ranging from Dead & Company to Harry Styles.
Chan was also honored at the event, receiving the “Philanthropy of Science Innovator of the Year” award. A spokesperson for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Brandi Hoffine Barr, said Zuckerberg and Chan have committed to giving away 99% of their Meta shares to philanthropy over the course of their lifetimes and have already granted out $7 billion. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg’s current net worth is around $224 billion.
Eilish’s comments come as the number of billionaires worldwide continues to grow, with 204 new billionaires added in 2024, according to a January report from Oxfam International titled “Takers Not Makers.”
The report found that the billionaires grew wealthier three times faster in 2024 than in 2023, pointing to an increased concentration of resources globally.
Oxfam predicted that at least five people will become trillionaires in the next decade, up from one person the year before. The group called for higher taxes on the rich and other measures to break up monopolies, cap CEO pay and require companies to pay living wages.
The wealthiest Americans have a long history of calling on each other to give away more of their money. In 1889, the steel magnate and industrialist Andrew Carnegie argued in the essay “The Gospel of Wealth” that the richest should give away their fortunes within their lifetimes, in part to lessen the sting of growing inequality.
In 2010, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett took up that call by creating the Giving Pledge, a commitment for billionaires to give away more than half their wealth in their lifetimes or when they die.
Fifteen years on, some 256 billionaires have taken the pledge, with 110 of them coming from the U.S., according to a recent report by the Charity Reform Initiative of the Institute for Policy Studies. Those U.S. billionaires represent 13% of the total 876 billionaires in the U.S., according to the report, revealing the small portion of the wealthiest people who have publicly committed to giving away their fortunes.
The report found that of the 22 billionaires who have died since taking the pledge, only one gave away his fortune before he died. Meanwhile, only eight of the 22 deceased pledgers fulfilled the commitment by giving away half of their wealth or more at their death, though some of their estates are still being resolved.
Chuck Collins, one of the authors of the report and an expert at the Institute for Policy Studies, said Eilish’s comments are part of a growing realization that the rules of the economy favor those with assets over those who earn wages.
He thinks the Giving Pledge has created an expectation and competition for the wealthiest to give away their money, but the fortunes of many of the pledgers have increased over time, meaning they will need to move even more aggressively if they are to fulfill the commitment.
“In the end, philanthropy is not a substitute for a fair and effective tax system,” Collins said. “The level of extreme inequality will require some form of restoring progressivity to the tax system, a wealth tax as well as progressive income tax.”
Entertainment
Alison Hammond blasted for comments about Meghan Markle
Renowned TV host, Alison Hammond, has sparked reactions from fans with her comments about Meghan Markle at the show.
The TV presenter suggested that the backlash faced by the Duchess of Sussex is rooted in “racism” and “misogyny”.
The viewers were left divided after the debate unfolded on This Morning following fresh comments from the Duchess of Sussex, who recently claimed she had been “bullied and attacked” online for a decade and described herself as “the most trolled person in the world”.
During the segment, Hammond introduced a clip of Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan, expressing her anger over online abuse against her, warning that social media platforms are “anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks”.
The presenter then turned to journalist Bryony Gordon and stated: “Imagine being the most trolled person in the world. What that must do for you mentally.”
Gordon, who has previously voiced support for the Duchess, claimed she had experienced trolling herself “by proxy”.
Recalling her own interactions with Archie and Lilibet’s mother, Gordon said she bore “no resemblance” to the “villain” portrayed online and argued that the hostility said more about modern culture than the individual at its centre.
“There’s this sort of level of vitriol that is levelled, particularly at Meghan,” she said, adding that while not everyone has to like public figures, “we don’t need to take abuse”.
Hammond went on to question the scale of backlash directed at the former working royal, asking: “Ultimately, what has she ever done, really and truly? What, has she murdered anybody? No. She hasn’t done anything, really.”
She also described it as “sad” that ordon faced abuse simply for supporting the Duchess.
The conversation took a more pointed turn when co-presenter Dermot O’Leary asked the panel why they believed the mother-of-two attracts such intense criticism.
Hammond appeared to agree with Gordon’s assessment, nodding as she said: “Racism.”
She continued: “Do you know what? You’ve got to call it out when it’s there. Don’t be silly. It’s racism. It’s misogyny. It’s everything, all of the above.
The remarks quickly sparked a fierce reaction online, with viewers taking to X to voice their opinions on Hammond’s comments, with one user writing: “Being called out for bad behaviour is not bullying nor is it racist.”
Another added: “Apparently you can’t be critical of a woman or that’s ‘misogynistic’… well it’s not, you’re just wrong.”
Others questioned whether the backlash was linked to her actions rather than her identity.
“Could it be it isn’t down to sexism, racism, but just down to some people simply don’t like her?” one post read.
However, Meghan’s fans retaliated: “Never really understood why she gets so much abuse. I like her and Harry.”
While another suggested critics would soon “go back to their usual national sport of trashing her again”.
Entertainment
Royal fan defends Meghan Markle amid brutal criticism: ‘There was no BS’
Meghan Markle, who left her senior royal role with Prince Harry back in 2020, received support from a royal fan after critics slammed the Duchess of Sussex for an insensitive move during her four-day Australia visit.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s mum was invited as a special guest at an all-girls luxury retreat in Sydney. She sat down for a Q&A session where she spoke candidly about her experience in the public life describing it as “very hard”.
However, Meghan’s trip has not been without backlash over several things in the course of the tour. Some fans expressed how the getaway promised a “a weekend of connection, inspiration and personal growth, with Meghan positioned as its headline guest” but she left early Saturday morning.
Social media was abuzz with comments calling her out over leaving the event so soon and not even having dinner with attendees, like she was supposed to.
“Why did Meghan Markle not even share a meal with women who had paid $3000 to spend ‘retreat’ time with her? How is that kind?” one user wrote.
Others echoed the sentiment: “How ridiculous, they advertised like she was spending the whole weekend with them,” one said, while another remarked, “2 hours? I thought it was a weekend retreat? WOW!”
In the midst of all this, an entrepreneur and business owner Liliana Sanelli, who is also a fan of King Charles, shared kind words for Meghan.
“It’s not every day you can say you meet someone as beautiful as Meghan Markle,” she wrote. “This besties weekend has been incredible so far to connect, unite, recalibrate with 300 dynamic women.”
She continued, “Hearing Meghan speak so openly, authentically and be so real – has given me another perspective of powerful, insightful strong women when they are truly real to themselves.
“Whatever your opinion – I must admit I was blown away at her kind, caring engaging energy. There was no BS…. Just keeping it real.”
She noted that Harry was also in the room and the two are “definitely beautiful as a couple and in love”.
Entertainment
Ruby Rose old essay resurfaces detailing night of alleged Katy Perry assault
Ruby Rose shed light on a night she claims changed the course of her life.
In a resurfaced 2011 essay written for Australian outlet news.com.au, the actress and model described a drunken evening with Katy Perry that she now alleges was the night of a sexual assault.
“I had been off the grog for 30 days — my first attempt at sobriety — and I was out partying with Katy,” Rose recalled in the piece.
“What I do remember thinking was: ‘I’ll have a drink tonight, I deserve one. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?’” she wrote.
She admitted she relapsed that night, consuming “not one drink, or 10,” before vomiting on Perry’s foot.
Rose framed the incident as a turning point, saying, “The short answer: I threw up on Katy Perry.
And that’s one of the reasons I’ve been off the grog now for almost 90 days.”
She emphasized that “nothing horrific happened” and that she hadn’t faced a DUI.
At the time, she framed the incident as a “funny little drunk story” that inspired her to recommit to sobriety.
But in recent Threads posts, Rose alleged Perry sexually assaulted her at Melbourne’s Spice Market nightclub.
“She didn’t kiss me. She saw me ‘resting’ on my best friend’s lap to avoid her and bent down, pulled her un*****ar to the side and rubbed her disgusting v****a on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomited on her,” Rose claimed.
She added that she kept the story quiet for years, even as Perry later helped her secure a U.S. visa.
Perry’s representatives have strongly denied the accusations, calling them “categorically false” and “dangerous reckless lies.”
They pointed to Rose’s history of making public allegations against various individuals, all of which have been denied.
Australian authorities have since confirmed they are investigating a “historical sexual assault” reported to have occurred in Melbourne in 2010.
Acting Sergeant Paul Hogan of Victoria Police said detectives from the Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse Investigation Team are reviewing the claims.
A former club manager has also spoken out, saying both women had “too much to drink” that night and insisting he did not witness any assault or vomiting.
For Rose, the resurfaced essay and her recent posts highlight how long it has taken her to speak openly.
“Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice, it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes,” she wrote.
-
Politics1 week agoIndian airlines hit hardest after Dubai limits foreign flights until May 31
-
Entertainment5 days agoPalace left in shock as Prince William cancels grand ceremony
-
Sports5 days agoThe case for Man United’s Fernandes as Premier League’s best
-
Politics1 week agoChinese, Taiwanese will unite, Xi tells Taiwan opposition leader
-
Business5 days agoUK could adopt EU single market rules under new legislation
-
Entertainment1 week agoDua Lipa hits major career high ahead of wedding with Callum Turner
-
Business1 week agoHe paid $248 in illegal tariffs for this coat. Will he ever get it back?
-
Sports1 week agoLamar Jackson hits back at critics with faithful message on social media
