Billie Eilish has been accused of "destroying" America by officials from President Donald Trump's administration in a leaked document about a potential COVID-themed advertising campaign.
According to the Washington Post, documents pertaining to a pro-Trump public health campaign vetted various celebrities who could be involved. The stars were removed from consideration if they had ever criticised the president, supported former President Barack Obama or advocated for same-sex marriage and gay rights, according to documents obtained by Democratic House Lawmakers.
A note on pop star Billie Eilish stated that she should not appear in the US$250 million ad campaign because she was "not a Trump supporter," and in fact, was "destroying our country and everything we care about".
The phrasing of the last point exactly mimics what Eilish said about Trump when she appeared in a video during the Democratic Convention earlier this year, where she also endorsed Joe Biden for president.
The Washington Post reports that a PSA Celebrity Tracker documented flagged many other celebrities for their stances on political and social issues, including Christina Aguilera, dubbed an "Obama-supporting Democrat" and "gay rights supporting liberal", and Jack Black, "known to be a classic Hollywood liberal".
Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Judd Apatow and Brad Pitt were also all noted to have exhibited anti-Trump or liberal Democrat behaviours.
The Trump administration reportedly only approved 10 celebrities out of the approximately 247 considered to spread the message of "helping the president help the country," the theme suggested by Trump’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Dennis Quaid, Billy Ray Cyrus and Enrique Iglesias were among those who got the green light. Three stars reportedly sat for interviews about the pandemic, but later withdrew their consent for the footage to be used. No celebrity PSAs ever went live, and the campaign is currently under investigation at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
