Billie Eilish takes knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter at peaceful protest
Singer attended peaceful protest in Los Angeles
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Billie Eilish took the knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters as she attended a peaceful demonstration in Los Angeles.
The “Bad Guy” singer, who has been vocal in her support of the Black Lives Matter movement, attended the protest in her hometown on Thursday.
From the demonstration, Eilish, 18, shared a short video on her Instagram Stories as she knelt among with the large crowd who raised their fists in the air.
Taking the knee as a sign of solidarity was popularised in 2016 by American athletes, including American football player Colin Kaepernick, who decided to kneel rather than stand during the national anthem as a way of disavowing the history of racism in the United States.
The gesture has since been seen at peaceful protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd, with videos of both demonstrators and police officers kneeling in solidarity.
Earlier this week, Eilish said that she was “losing her mind” hearing white people insist that “all lives matter”, urging them to instead recognise their privilege.
“Will you shut the f*** up?” Eilish wrote. “No one is saying your life doesn’t matter. No one is saying your life is not hard. No one is saying literally anything at all about you… all you MFs do is find a way to make everything about yourself. This is not about you. You are not in need. You are not in danger.”
“You are privileged whether you like it or not. Society gives you privilege just for being white. You can be poor, you can be struggling, and still your skin colour is giving you more privilege than you realise.”