8 times Billie Eilish clapped back at body shamers
"Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why?"
[TW: This article contains references to self-harm and disordered eating]
Despite being only 19 years-old, Billie Eilish is used to smashing records. In 2020, she became the youngest person ever to win *all* four of the top Grammy's (Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year). And you know what else? She isn't afraid to smash the public's perception of her either.
Billie has refused to accept the treatment that so many young, female-presenting musicians are forced into. Instead of accepting the status quo, she's used her position to challenge abuses of power in the music industry, slut-shaming and, of course, body shaming.
Whereas some argue that celebrities should accept scrutiny of their appearance as an inevitable side-effect of fame, Billie has instead created powerful, nuanced statements about body image. Starting with the most recent, here's eight times Billie (and her fans) gave body shaming the middle finger.
May 2021
Billie debuted a new look on the cover of British Vogue's June 2021, wearing a custom-made Gucci corset, paired with Agent Provocateur bra and underwear.
In her interview, she explained that her body “was the initial reason for (her) depression when I was younger," adding, "Don't make me not a role model because you're turned on by me.
"Suddenly you're a hypocrite if you want to show your skin... Let's turn it around and be empowered in that. Showing your body and showing your skin – or not – should not take any respect away from you."
January 2021
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Billie spoke candidly about body image pressures, including her experience with weight loss pills.
Ahead of the release of her documentary, Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry, Billie recalled self-harming because she was unhappy about her body, stating, "The reason I used to cut myself was because of my body, to be quite honest with you. I only started wearing baggy clothes because of my body."
Billie also opened up about the pressure she felt to lose weight, saying, "Five years ago, I wasn’t really eating. I was, like, starving myself.
"I remember taking a pill that told me that it would make me lose weight and it only made me pee the bed — when I was twelve."
November 2020
During an interview with V Magazine, Billie touched on the sexist undertones of how people discussed her dress sense. While many have praised the (then) 18-year-old for wearing baggier clothes than the average female pop-star, Billie pointed out that often this 'compliment' has the effect of slut-shaming other women.
When discussing her signature style, Billie told Pharrell Williams:
"[Even] from my parents, [the] positive [comments] about how I dress have this slut-shaming element. Like, 'I am so glad that you are dressing like a boy, so that other girls can dress like boys, so that they aren’t sluts'.
"I have always... just loved when a woman or a man or anyone in the world feels comfortable in their skin, their body, to show just whatever they want. I don’t like that there’s this weird new world of supporting me by shaming people that [may not] want to [dress like me]."
November 2020
Billie releases a new video for her song Therefore I Am, which fans reckon has a powerful message against body shaming. The video shows Billie galavanting around an empty shopping mall, while eating fries and, frankly, looking like she's having the time of her life.
One fan tweeted, "BILLIE EILISH SAID F**K BODY SHAMING", while another commented, "Billie Eilish casually running around the mall grabbing mall snacks singing 'Iʼm not your friend', basically slamming people who were body shaming her. I never thought my crush on her would be bigger."
October 2020
After Billie was photographed in LA wearing shorts and a vest (a slight departure from her signature baggy clothes), she was subject to a tirade of misogynistic, body-shaming abuse, with trolls comparing her body to that of a "mid-30s wine mom". Yep, pretty vile.
Thankfully, Billie's fans soon took to social media to voice their support for the singer. Youtuber Jessie Paege also spoke up, saying, "Billie Eilish is beautiful! PLEASE, do not body shame her, or anyone for that matter.
"Body shaming is not 'news' or 'gossip' it’s HARMFUL and UNACCEPTABLE." Yep, what they said.
April 2020
During an interview with Dazed, Billie recalled the backlash after she posted pics of her wearing a swimming costume on Insta.
She explained feeling like she couldn't win, saying, "I saw comments like, ‘How dare she talk about not wanting to be sexualized and wear this?!’"
“It was trending. There were comments like, ‘I don’t like her anymore because as soon as she turns 18, she’s a whore.’ Like, dude. I can’t win."
March 2020
Billie opens her Where Do We Go world tour in Miami with a powerful statement on the double-standards women face. The singer shared a video interlude of her taking off her top, while she said the following:
"If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut. Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me. While I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sighs of relief, if I lived by them, I’d never be able to move.
"The body I was born with, is it not what you wanted? If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why?"
One fan captured the moment and shared it on Twitter, calling Billie, "so strong and powerful." We couldn't agree more.
May 2019
In a behind-the-scenes video for her Calvin Klein campaign, Billie explained her decision to wear baggy clothes. She said, "Nobody can have an opinion [on my body], because they haven’t seen what’s underneath.
"Nobody can be like, 'She’s slim-thick', 'She’s not slim-thick', 'She’s got a flat ass', 'She’s got a fat ass'. No one can say any of that because they don't know."
Billie also spoke out about not being able to please everyone, saying, "If I wore a dress to something, I would be hated for it. People would be like, 'You’ve changed — how dare you do what you’ve always rebelled against?' I’m like, 'I’m not rebelling against anything, really'.
"I’m just wearing what I wanna wear. If there’s a day when I’m like, 'You know what, I feel comfortable with my belly right now, and I wanna show my belly', I should be allowed to do that."
"Like many women, I’m in the grey zone with food”
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