Australian Activist Alleges Billie Eilish Orchestrated His Deportation
In a dramatic turn of events following Billie Eilish's provocative Grammy Awards speech, a controversial right-wing Australian activist claims the singer personally caused his deportation from the United States. Drew Pavlou, 26, asserts that his plan to occupy Eilish's multi-million dollar Malibu mansion as "performance art" resulted in immigration authorities denying him entry and sending him back to Australia.
The Grammy Speech That Sparked Controversy
Earlier this month, during the prestigious Grammy Awards ceremony, Billie Eilish delivered a powerful statement that reverberated across the music industry and political landscape. While accepting her award, the American singer condemned United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), declaring: "No one is illegal on stolen land."
Eilish expressed frustration with growing anti-immigration rhetoric in the United States, a country colonized by Europeans in the late 16th century. "I just feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting," she told the audience, which included fellow artists like Bad Bunny who also criticized ICE. She concluded with the blunt statement: "And f*** ICE, that's all I'm gonna say. Sorry!"
From Social Media Posts to Deportation
Drew Pavlou, who first gained prominence in 2020 when suspended from the University of Queensland for alleged misconduct, responded to Eilish's speech with skepticism. On Instagram, he characterized her viewpoint as "extremely radical," suggesting she was arguing that "the United States of America should be abolished" due to colonization's legacy.
Pavlou then announced his intention to "move into" Eilish's beachfront mansion, sarcastically thanking the singer for her "generosity." He established a GoFundMe campaign that reportedly raised over $3,000 in less than three hours to fund his flights from Australia, though the platform later removed it for guideline violations.
In an interview with Sky News, Pavlou insisted he planned nothing illegal, stating he would "just sit outside her house until somebody asks me to leave." He framed the action as testing Eilish's assertion that "nobody is illegal on stolen land."
The Deportation Incident
When Pavlou attempted to enter the United States to execute his plan, immigration officials detained him for over 24 hours at Los Angeles International Airport before deporting him. Pavlou shared the experience with his 65,000 social media followers, claiming he spent "30 hours at LAX immigration trying to explain that my s*** posts were just a joke."
He alleged that officers informed him he had entered with incorrect paperwork and needed a different visa. In a subsequent video, Pavlou declared: "Billie Eilish reported me to ICE and got me deported cause I joked about flying to the US and moving into her mansion."
Pavlou framed the outcome as ironic performance art, stating: "I somehow managed to get Billie Eilish and American liberals to endorse border control and deportations. The pain was worth it for the meme."
Broader Context and Tribal Response
Eilish's Grammy speech drew mixed reactions, with some critics noting her $3,000,000 Los Angeles home sits on land historically belonging to the Tongva tribe. Following her comments, a Tongva spokesperson told The Daily Mail they had reached out to express appreciation for her visibility on indigenous issues, though confirming Eilish had not directly contacted the tribe about her property.
Pavlou, who unsuccessfully ran for Australian parliament in 2021 and has built a profile opposing immigration while lamenting the loss of "Australian identity," characterized the entire episode as humorous. "I can't even be mad because it's kind of funny," he said. "It's obviously a joke...who else takes jokes this far."
The incident highlights ongoing tensions around immigration policy, celebrity activism, and the complex legacy of colonization in the United States, with representatives for Billie Eilish yet to comment publicly on Pavlou's allegations.
