Celebrity4 min(s) read
Billie Eilish has been slammed over her previous "stolen land" comments after officiating her brother Finneas O’Connell’s wedding at a historic California estate.
The 24-year-old singer hosted the ceremony as O’Connell, 29, married his longtime girlfriend Claudia Sulewski, 30, at the grand San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California, this weekend.
However, some online users quickly highlighted the history of the land where the wedding took place and referred to comments the 'Ocean Eyes' songstress made during her acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards earlier this year.
One person wrote on X: "Was this on stolen land?" while another posted: “She is on stolen land."
The reaction follows Eilish's controversial acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards on February 1.
After she and O’Connell won Song of the Year for 'WILDFLOWER,' Eilish used her time on stage to speak out against the Trump administration's immigration policies.
"No one is illegal on stolen land. It’s hard to know what to say and what to do, but we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter," she said.
She also shouted “F** ICE,” with her comments receiving cheers and a standing ovation from members of the audience.
The remarks later sparked online debate, including criticism of Eilish's own multimillion-dollar Southern California property.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded at the time: "Oh, gee, this 'stolen land' nonsense again? Maybe she should step up and forfeit her Southern California mansion since it is supposedly on 'stolen land.'"
Senator Mike Lee of Utah similarly wrote: "Any white person who does a public ‘stolen land’ acknowledgement should immediately give his or her land to Native Americans. Otherwise, they don’t mean it."
Following Eilish's speech, the Tongva tribe, the Indigenous people of the Los Angeles Basin who are known as the "First Angelenos," responded to her statement.
While acknowledging the attention her comments brought to the country's history, a spokesperson noted that Eilish's home "is situated in our ancestral land".
"Eilish has not contacted our tribe directly regarding her property, we do value the instance when Public figures provide visibility to the true history of this country," the spokesperson said.
"It is our hope that in future discussions, the tribe can explicitly be referenced to ensure the public understands that the greater Los Angeles basin remains Gabrieleno Tongva territory," they added.
The tribe also said it had "partnered closely with the Recording Academy to author the official Land Acknowledgment statement shared during Grammy week and at the Premiere Ceremony".
"The Recording Academy has been an incredible partner to our tribe, and we look forward to continuing the relationship to ensure the voices of the First People of this land are heard and honored. Ekwa Shem- We are here!" the spokesperson concluded.
The land surrounding Saturday's wedding has its own Indigenous and colonial history.
Per The New York Post, the Chumash historically inhabited a large portion of California's Central and Southern coasts, including the area where San Ysidro Ranch now stands.
Per the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Chumash territory once encompassed about 7,000 square miles, from Malibu to Paso Robles and inland to the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley.
Historical documentation also identifies the Montecito area as Chumash territory before European settlement.
Spanish colonization of the Santa Barbara region began during the late 18th century. The Santa Barbara Presidio was established in 1782, followed by Mission Santa Barbara in 1786.
San Ysidro Ranch says Franciscan monks named the property after Saint Isidore, the patron saint of agriculture, in the late 1700s.
Mission padres later built the property's Old Adobe in 1825 and farmed the land, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.
The estate became the San Ysidro Citrus Ranch, with a sandstone packing house built in 1889. Plans for a small hotel came several years later, and it opened in 1893.
It later became a retreat for many famous figures. Sir Winston Churchill stayed there with his family, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier married at the ranch, and John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy spent their honeymoon there. One cottage is now named the Kennedy Cottage.
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