O’Leary previously denounced celebrities who get political, telling them to “shut your mouth and just entertain”
Mark Ruffalo, an actor and outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s approach to immigration, hit back at Kevin O’Leary after the Shark Tank reality TV star criticized Billie Eilish‘s anti-ICE Grammys acceptance speech.
Shortly after Eilish used her platform to reach millions across the globe, O’Leary appeared on Fox News to bash celebrities who get political. “Half the people in politics that you piss off won’t buy your music anymore,” O’Leary said on Tuesday. “It’s the first lesson 101 for celebrity: As you rise up, whether you’re a film star, a music star [or] whatever, shut your mouth and just entertain.”
Ruffalo defended Eilish’s speech in a Threads post on Thursday, Feb. 5. “Kevin O’Leary why don’t you STFU. It’s hilarious,” wrote Ruffalo. “You will go on any show and talk shit about any number of things and smugly expect us to listen to you, but you will dig into a real artist that dwarfs anything you dream of doing for actually saying something that resonates with 100’s of millions of people the world over.” The Oscar-nominated actor added, “It’s astounding the fantasy double standard Kevin O’Leary lives in. You played yourself well in Marty Supreme.”
When accepting the award for Song of the Year for “Wildflower” at the 2026 Grammys on Sunday, Eilish condemned ICE and spoke up for the rights of immigrants. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” Eilish said during her speech. “It’s really hard to know what to say and what to do right now… I just I 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 then declared, “Fuck ICE,” before walking off stage.
Her brother and collaborator Finneas, whose own response was included in Ruffalo’s post, also defended his sister against criticism following her comments at the ceremony. “Seeing a lot of very powerful old white men outraged about what my 24 year old sister said during her acceptance speech,” he wrote on Threads. “We can literally see your names in the Epstein files.”
