Billie Eilish Almost Canceled ACL Set 'To Punish' Texas Over Abortion Law
By Hayden Brooks
October 4, 2021
Billie Eilish almost didn’t pull through with her Austin City Limits 2021 set.
On Saturday (October 2), the chart-topper brought Happier Than Ever tunes to the weekend music festival, but Eilish stopped her set to admit that she almost pulled the plug on the performance because of Texas’ new abortion law. “When they made that sh*t a law, I almost didn't want to do the show because I wanted to punish this f*cking place for allowing that to happen here,” she declared at the ACL Fest Stage at Zilker Park. “But then I remembered that it’s you guys that are the f*cking victims and you deserve everything in the world. We need to tell them to shut the f*ck.”
After Eilish’s revelation, she put her middle finger in the air and declared “My body, my f*cking choice!” to which the crowd erupted in cheers.
As you know, Texas’ law, which was enacted in September, prohibits abortions after around six weeks, when cardiac activity is detected. That is a time at which many women aren’t even aware they’re pregnant. The law also doesn’t make exceptions for rape or incest. In addition, private citizens are allowed to sue abortion providers or anyone who aids a woman in obtaining an abortion for $10,000 or more.
Just a day after the show, Eilish appeared content with the set, taking to Instagram to share a number of photos from the show. "Last night was f*cking crazy. one of my favorites," she captioned a post.