When Billie Eilish took to the stage at the 2026 Grammy Awards and boldly declared ‘F*** ICE,’ a wave of applause broke out among the majority inside the auditorium.
Row after row of attendees rose to their feet as they lauded the Wildflower singer for publicly denouncing the federal law enforcement group who have come under scrutiny in the wake of multiple civilian deaths in recent weeks.
However, while everyone around her stood, sports broadcaster Emily Austin remained seated. In fact, the 24-year-old took the opportunity to film her reaction to Eilish’s monologue before later posting it on X.
Austin, who has worked for the likes of DAZN and Sports Illustrated, described the speech as ‘painful to listen to’ while also mocking Eilish’s comments and firing a disapproving look to the camera as she did so.
The reaction – filmed alongside her Israeli mother Nataly – has since been viewed over 30 million times on X as fans clashed over the viral moment.
‘My phone has been blowing up,’ Austin told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview. ‘There’s a lot of hate but when you hate me for things I’ll never compromise on, then I don’t really get bothered by it. There’s so much love too. But the hate is very loud.
Emily Austin, left, recorded her live reaction to Billie Eilish’s anti-ICE speech at the Grammys
Austin stunned on the red carpet and turned heads with her stars-and-stripes clutch bag
Billie Eilish made one of the most high-profile political statements at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards when she spoke out against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after winning Song of the Year
‘In terms of my reaction, I was sneering at her because it was performative and it was disingenuous. But what upset me most was the fact I was the only one not standing.
‘The fact that not one other person in the arena had the spinal cord to think for themselves. Like, “f*** ICE”? I don’t think everyone in the arena had to agree with that.’
Along with Eilish, Olivia Dean, Bad Bunny and Kehlani all used their stage time to denounce the federal law enforcement group – while Justin and Hailey Bieber wore ‘ICE OUT’ pins in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
According to Austin, the pins were being doled out on the Grammys’ front steps.
‘They were giving them to every bypasser, so that everyone in the arena could wear an ICE OUT pin. So they were really encouraging this behavior,’ she claimed. ‘It was coordinated.’
Austin described the immense security measures that were put in place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, stating that ‘they built walls’ in an attempt to ensure safety on the night.
‘Yet this person with a bucket of ICE pins was allowed there. Which means the Grammys probably approved of it,’ Austin claimed. ‘It wasn’t a stranger. There was nobody else within hundreds of feet of the Crypto.com Arena last night.’
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‘It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter,’ Eilish continued
While stars took to the auditorium adorned with the pins on their lapels, the award ceremony itself followed a similar theme, as celebrities made pointed remarks about the Trump administration and US immigration enforcement policies throughout the evening.
For Austin, however, there was little wrong with what was said by many other A-listers, but in her view, Eilish crossed a line.
‘Lady Gaga, one of the most liberal women, did not make it political because it ruins it,’ Austin said. ‘Even Trevor Noah – I can’t stand him – his jokes were funny.
‘Billie, on the other hand, when she was like: “Blah, blah, blah, f*** ICE.” It’s clear she has no idea what’s going on.
‘She’s very performative, because she speaks out on a lot of issues that you know, if you asked her questions about it, she wouldn’t know.
‘She lives in a $3 million mansion in Glendale with security, so if you don’t respect law enforcement, in my mind, you don’t get to reap the benefits of having law enforcement by your side when it’s convenient for you.
‘You can’t selectively disrespect some law enforcement and then respect the ones that keep you alive every day of your life.’
Along with her public denouncing of ICE, Eilish also referenced the colonization of the Americas by Europeans in her acceptance speech: ‘As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything but that no one is illegal on stolen land.’
Justin and Hailey Bieber made a political statement on the red carpet, joining numerous other stars speaking out against the second Trump administration and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement with ‘ICE OUT’ pins
Also making a statement — both on the red carpet and on stage — were stars including Kehlani, Jason Isbell, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Rhiannon Giddens, country singer–songwriter Margo Price and more
Austin, meanwhile, made a statement of her own after dazzling with a diamond encrusted clutch bag which boasted the design of the American flag
Again, the remarks were met with rapturous applause and a chorus of cheers and whistles from the evening’s attendees. Austin, however, remained unimpressed.
‘If you believe we live on stolen land, why do you get to reap the benefits of living here?’ Austin said. ‘You don’t get to come to America to sneakily reap the benefits of it, potentially be a criminal, disrespect the country, and then, again, reap the benefits.’
Austin went on to reference a three-year restraining order which was granted to Eilish in 2020 after a man appeared at her home multiple times: ‘She should give them the house because it’s on stolen land anyway, right? And when he broke in, who did she call? The police that she wants defunded? I don’t think she called her psychologist – who she clearly needs.’
The DAZN presenter insisted that her defiance on the night – illustrated by her seated protest to Eilish’s comments and her diamond encrusted clutch bag which had the American flag embroidered onto it – was a way of representing the ‘silent majority.’
‘Let me remind you, most of the country, we voted for Donald Trump,’ she said.
‘Donald Trump campaigned on closing the borders and deporting illegal immigrants, and every previous president has done the same, but everyone’s pretending like it’s something we can’t talk about.’
Austin’s viral reaction to Eilish swiftly sparked a political firestorm on social media, with her detractors loud in their criticism of the sports broadcaster.
Austin has risen to fame as a sports broadcaster, covering boxing, soccer and lots more
Austin previously went viral during the Club World Cup for her interview with Donald Trump
However according to Austin, the reaction in-person was entirely different. While she wouldn’t ‘name names,’ she claimed that ‘very powerful people yesterday made it a point to find me.’
‘Whether it was at the after party or at the event, and they whispered in my ear: “I love your bag, good job.” And I was like: “Say it out loud, champ!”‘ she said.
‘A lot of people messaged me privately saying “love what you did” and “love what you said.” I have so many famous people blowing up my phone this morning.
‘And it upsets me that they feel the need to praise me in private because they’re scared to be scrutinized publicly.
‘I believe that if we all shared our opinion that we respect law enforcement and it became more of a normalized opinion then we wouldn’t be in the minority.’
