Australian social media influencer Drew Pavlou says he was denied entry to the United States after posting online that he planned to move into Billie Eilish’s Malibu home, a claim that gained global attention after Elon Musk reposted his account.
Pavlou, 26, wrote on X that “Billie Eilish got me deported from the US – I think her legal team contacted DHS” following a series of posts in which he framed plans to set up a tent outside the singer’s property as “performance art”.
“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,” Pavlou wrote in a post viewed more than 11 million times.
He added: “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”.
Pavlou continued: “I guess some people are in fact actually illegal on stolen land” and “And I guess I am just a BAD GUY….” He described himself as “legitimately one of the most misunderstood theorists/artists of the 21st century”.
The controversy began earlier this month after Eilish, during a Grammy Awards speech, criticised US immigration enforcement and said “no human being is illegal on stolen land”. Pavlou responded with a video stating he had decided to move into what he described as her “$6 million Malibu beachfront mansion” because “no human being is illegal on stolen land”.
He later posted updates about booking flights to Los Angeles and said he would attempt to set up a tent outside the property. The Malibu home referenced in his posts has previously been linked to Eilish’s family.
Pavlou travelled to Los Angeles on 14 February under the Visa Waiver Program. He was stopped at Los Angeles International Airport and held for questioning before being returned to Australia. He said he had not been banned from the United States but would need to apply for a different visa in future.
US Customs and Border Protection has not publicly commented on the case. There has been no confirmation from Eilish or her representatives regarding Pavlou’s allegation that her legal team contacted the Department of Homeland Security.
The story escalated after Musk reposted Pavlou’s thread, writing: “Most ironic outcome is most likely”. The reply attracted tens of thousands of likes and prompted further online debate about the incident, immigration enforcement and celebrity activism.
Supporters of Pavlou have argued the episode exposed what they see as hypocrisy in Eilish’s remarks. Critics have pointed to his public statements about travelling to the property and questions around his visa status.
Pavlou has said he intends to return to the United States with the appropriate visa. The online exchange between him and Musk has kept the dispute in the public eye, drawing renewed attention to the intersection of social media satire, immigration law and political messaging.
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