Finneas Claps Back Against Haters, Denies Parents Had Connections in the Music Industry

• Save

• Save

Photo Credit: Glenn Francis / CC by 4.0

Finneas O’Connell is clapping back against haters claiming he and his sister, Billie Eilish, are only successful because of their parents.

Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell are both LA-based actors and parents to the duo. Baird self-released an album back in 2009. Citing a Wikipedia article listing Finneas’ parents as “also musicians,” some haters have accused the pair of cheating their way onto the charts.

Finneas quickly responded to the allegations on Twitter before deleting them. The now-deleted tweet from Finneas begins: “During my lifetime, our parents were never able to support us off of their work as actors fully financially. Our dad worked twelve-hour days, seven days a week as a construction worker for Mattel, and our mom was a teacher. Our parents gave us love but knew no one in the record industry.”

To finish off his rebuttal, Finneas said he paid off his parents’ mortgage last year. He confirmed his sister, Billie Eilish, pays them both salaries to tour with them full time.

“Anyone who saw us tour in 2019 knows our dad insists on sweeping the stage each night before we perform,” he finished.

Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas have drawn increased scrutiny from some after their massive rise to success. Eilish swept the 2020 Grammys, winning five awards total. Her wins include Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. Eilish dethroned Taylor Swift as the youngest person ever to win the award.

Her album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go, was recorded in her childhood home in LA. Finneas confirmed some of the equipment used to create the album in a recent interview – totaling less than $3,000 in kit minus the laptop.

Finneas O’Connell also won Producer of the Year at the 2020 Grammys for his work on the album. “It’s a huge honor to be given a Grammy for making home-made cookies,” he said.