BIllie Eilish Says She Doesn't Fly Private, for New 'Vogue' Cover Along With Eight Climate Activists

In a cover story for Vogue published on Jan 4, 2023, Billie Eilish kept the focus on her favorite topic (besides music, of course): climate justice.

Eilish spoke about her passion for educating people on the climate crisis, the climate anxiety she feels, as well as how she works to take climate action and reduce her own impact. In the interview, she even addressed whether or not she takes private jets, something that many celebrities of her caliber have been criticized for.

Additionally, Eilish shared the magazine cover with a group of eight young climate activists (as per her own request), along with an accompanying short film where they all discuss the climate movement. Keep reading to learn more about Eilish's perspective on flying private, and to meet the activists she featured.

Based on her Vogue cover story, Eilish does not fly private.

“I have to take planes. I hate it,” Eilish told Vogue in the interview, specifically speaking of the environmental impact of going on tour.

However, Eilish "refuses to fly private and is committed to finding unusual workarounds for travel," as per the magazine.

Eilish has been spotted in airports, presumably after flying commercial, on multiple occasions. This is in sharp contrast to the many A-list celebrities who exclusively fly private, many of whom also own private jets, and have been criticized for the associated high emissions.

In September 2019, Eilish also spoke about the topic of air travel on The Howard Stern Show along with her brother Finneas.

"I think airplanes as a whole are so wasteful, and are really really affecting the world in not a great way, and the problem is that I have a job where I simply can't not fly," Eilish told the radio host.

"Private jets — I want to so bad. And I probably will ... 100 percent I will," she said at the time "But I hope by the time I do, there's a way more green way to do it."

She then explained that she does a lot of other things in her life to try and offset the impact of frequently using air travel.

One of those things is living vegan. Eilish and her brother Finneas' mom Maggie Baird raised her children vegetarian and later vegan, and they all remain vegan to this day, as it's one of the most effective ways to lower one's environmental impact.

"I remember learning about what the meat and the dairy industry was doing to our planet, and that's when I was like, what?" Eilish said in the Vogue short film. To this day, she has never eaten meat.

Eilish has also used her platform to bring attention to the climate crisis in many other ways. For instance, she Executive Produced a documentary called Overheated, which she premiered in London at her six-day climate action event, also called Overheated.

Eight climate activists, all of whom were under 30 years old, who joined Eilish for the Vogue shoot. Eilish stepped back during the short film that went along with the cover story, asking questions, and letting the activists make their voices heard.

The eight activists she featured are:

• Ryan Berberet, 16, a climate organizer at her school, and a member of a campaign pressuring California's Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a climate emergency
• Tori Tsui, 29, the co-founder Bad Activist Collective and a member of the climate coalition Unite For Climate Action
• Isaias Hernandez, aka Queer Brown Vegan, an environmental educator and influencer
• Quannah Chasinghorse, an Indigenous rights activist and model

• Xiye Bastida, 20, a Fridays For Future organizer and the co-founder of Re-Earth Initiative
• Maya Penn, 22, an entrepreneur, sustainable clothing designer, animator, and founder of the nonprofit Maya's Ideas 4 The Planet
• Nalleli Cobo, who was awarded the the Goldman Environmental Prize for Environmental Justice, after the cancer survivor helped shut down an oil drilling site in her community
• Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist and the first Black person to win the Rhodes, Truman, and Udall scholarships.

It just so happens that Green Matters has either interviewed or reported on all of the above activists, with the exception of the first activist on the list. We love seeing these incredible activists get the recognition they deserve by a celebrity like Eilish and a platform like Vogue, and you can learn more about their perspectives on climate justice, oppression, activism, and more by watching the above video.