An Australian activist’s attempt to turn progressive celebrity rhetoric into real-world “performance art” ended in a 30-hour detention at Los Angeles International Airport and a one-way ticket back to Sydney.
Drew Pavlou says he was denied entry into the United States after publicly announcing plans to stage a protest outside pop star Billie Eilish’s multi-million-dollar California home, following her inflammatory anti-ICE remarks during the February 1 Grammy Awards ceremony.
Eilish said during 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. And f— ICE, that’s all I’m gonna say.”
Pavlou decided to put that rhetoric to the test. He announced a plan to travel to California and “move into” Eilish’s $6 million Malibu property, arguing that if the land is truly “stolen” and “no one is illegal,” Eilish should have no problem with a guest on her lawn.
Pavlou announced in a video statement:
“Big news, everybody: I’ve decided today to move into Billie Eilish’s $6 million Malibu beachside mansion.
She announced today at the Grammys that no human being is illegal on stolen land. No one is illegal on stolen land.
I’m going to be making the trip to America. I’m packing my bags right away, and I’m looking forward to just taking possession of her $6 million Malibu mansion. No human being is illegal.
I want to thank everybody who’s believed in me on this journey. I really can’t wait to move—it’s now my house. I want to thank Billie Eilish as well for her generosity.”
WATCH:
Exciting news: I’ve decided to move into Billie Eilish’s $6 million Malibu beachfront mansion because no human being is illegal on stolen land.
Thank you Billie for your generosity. pic.twitter.com/1egsPPKs5i
— Drew Pavlou
(@DrewPavlou) February 2, 2026
He later clarified the plan was to camp outside the gated property and leave only if formally asked. He described the effort as “totally legal” and framed it as political performance art designed to test the logic of Eilish’s remarks.
Pavlou initially raised approximately $3,000 through GoFundMe before the campaign was removed. He then shifted fundraising to GiveSendGo and proceeded to purchase airfare to Los Angeles.
Instead of reaching Glendale, Pavlou says he was detained upon arrival at LAX. According to his account, immigration officials questioned him extensively about:
- Whether he intended to trespass on Eilish’s property
- Whether he planned to contact or confront the singer
- Past online posts and activism
- A 2022 incident in London involving a false bomb threat he says he was cleared of
“They told me the main reason they stopped me was because of the Billie Eilish thing,” Pavlou wrote after being placed on a return flight.
He maintains he was not formally banned from reentering the United States but was advised that he should have applied for a different visa, particularly given a scheduled appearance later this month on a Texas-based program.
Read his statement below:
Billie Eilish got me deported from the US – I think her legal team contacted DHS
I spent 30 hours at LAX immigration trying to explain that my shit posts were just a joke and that I didn’t actually plan to personally move into her mansion
Honestly most of the agents were nice and laughed at the idea but there was nothing I could do, maybe evil leftists are still in charge of sections of the bureaucracy
I guess some people are in fact actually illegal on stolen land
And I guess I am just a BAD GUY….
Honestly I am legitimately one of the most misunderstood theorists/artists of the 21st century
[…]
They asked me if I planned to trespass on Billie Eilish’s property
I said no, I was shitposting
They asked me if I planned to try to meet Billie Eilish
I said no, of course not
They asked me if I had ever threatened to blow up Chinese government installations
I laughed and said no, WTF
They asked me to explain my previous arrest in London in 2022 when the Chinese embassy invented a fake bomb threat in my name (I got SWATed)
I showed them my clearance letter by British police showing I was completely innocent
They then said I should have applied for a business visa to go on Stephen Crowder’s show in Texas (I was invited and scheduled to go on February 19 alongside Kangmin Lee, Steven Crowder.
They didn’t ban me from the US but they said I have to apply with a different visa next time. So sad
[…]
Evil leftists can gloat all they like, it’s honestly funny performance art
I am a misunderstood theorist of global justice
Persecuted simply because my heart and mind are beautiful
[…]
On flight to Sydney now
So sad
Don’t think I will have internet on flight
[…]
30 hours no phone is torture for me
I got food poisoning from a shitty Chimmy Changa microwave burrito in the LAX customs holding facility
Read hundreds of pages of Roberto Bolano’s “The Savage Detectives” and Mike Davis’s “City of Quartz” – the two books I had when I was detained
I shook my head at every page reading the Mike Davis book because he’s a leftist
[…]
They told me that the main reason they stopped me was because of the Billie Eilish thing
She called ICE to get him deported
https://t.co/CmloZsCmbk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2026
The Daily Mail has revealed that the Tongva tribe confirmed that Eilish’s mansion does indeed sit on “ancestral land.”
They also did not take kindly to her virtue-signaling.
Instead, they scolded her for not contacting them regarding her property and for not referencing them specifically in her speech. Ouch.
“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,” a spokesperson for the tribe told the Daily Mail.
“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,” the spokesperson continued.
The Tongva tribe inhabited Los Angeles Basin, including Los Angeles County, parts of Orange County, and the islands of Santa Catalina, San Clemente, Santa Barbara, and San Nicolas for over 7,000 years.
The post ‘Billie Eilish Got Me Deported from the US’ — Australian Activist Detained at Los Angeles Airport After Testing Billie Eilish’s ‘Stolen Land’ Rhetoric at Her $6M Mansion appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.