Billie Eilish is reportedly confused by the reaction to the news of her seemingly coming out.
The ‘What Was I Made For?’ singer is one of the biggest musicians in the world right now – known for smash hit songs such as ‘Bad Guy’, ‘Ocean Eyes’ and ‘Everything I Wanted.’
She’s already broken huge records in her career – being the only woman to win all four major categories at the Grammys, as well as being the youngest artist to headline Coachella.
Eilish has also had high-profile relationships, including with rapper Brandon Adams and singer Jesse Rutherford.
And in a recent issue of Variety, the ‘Bellyache’ singer has seemingly revealed that she is also ‘attracted to women.’
However, now Eilish has claimed she’s been confused by the reaction to her coming out.
During her cover story for Variety’s Power of Women issue, the ‘No Time To Die’ artist addressed her experiences of being a young woman in the public eye, admitting to feeling intimidated by other women.
“I’ve never really felt like I could relate to girls very well,” Eilish said.
“I love them so much. I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real.”
Elsewhere in her original Variety interview, the Oscar-winning singer opened up about her complex relationship with womanhood, and how that was affected by the strong reaction to her single ‘What Was I Made For?’.
Following the release of Barbie, the track went viral on TikTok and it involved montages set to the song, with women sharing their own experiences of girlhood – which Eilish described as ‘moving’.
The music video for the song shows the singer unpacking Barbie-sized versions of her most recognizable outfits – including oversized T-shirts and shorts.
The artist explained that the idea behind it was to reinforce her desire to maintain ownership over her body.
Eilish explained: “I didn’t want people to have access to my body, even visually. I wasn’t strong enough and secure enough to show it. If I had shown it at that time, I would have been completely devastated if people had said anything.”
She went on to say that she had ‘never felt desired or desirable’, adding: “I’ve never felt like a woman, to be honest with you. I’ve never felt desirable. I’ve never felt feminine. I have to convince myself that I’m, like, a pretty girl.
“I identify as ‘she/her’ and things like that, but I’ve never really felt like a girl.”
In a Rolling Stone cover story, the singer opened up more about her sexuality, sharing that the new song ‘Lunch’ was written about her crush on a girl, and according to the interviewer, she likens sex with her to devouring a meal.
“That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real,” Eilish said.
“I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand — until, last year, I realized I wanted my face in a v*****.”
Following the interview, Eilish appeared on the red carpet at Variety’s Hitmakers event where she and her brother Finneas accepted the award for Film Song of the Year for ‘What Was I Made For?’ from Barbie.
A reporter asked the 21-year-old if she had meant to ‘come out’ during her interview.
“No, I didn’t, but I kinda thought… wasn’t it obvious?” Eilish responded. “I just didn’t realize people didn’t know.”
She added that she doesn’t believe in the concept of coming out and explained: “I just don’t really believe in it… why can’t we just exist? I’ve been doing this for a long time and I just didn’t talk about… whoops.”
The ‘bury a friend’ singer was then asked about the fan reaction to the news, to which she replied: “I saw all the articles [and] was like, ‘Oh, I guess I came out today… OK cool.’
“But it’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know, so it’s cool that they know… I am for the girls.”
While Eilish seemed to brush off the comments in the interview, the star’s Instagram activity after suggests that she has been left frustrated by the article and questions.
Uploading a series of photos from the event, Eilish penned in the caption: “Thanks Variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11 am instead of talking about anything else that matters.
“I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘What Was I Made For?’”
Reflecting on that incident months later, Rolling Stone reported that Eilish thinks she ‘overreacted’ to the situation.
She even liked the journalist who asked the question, leading her to give a safe answer.
“I went into Billie Eilish interview mode, [like], ‘Oh, I don’t care. Yeah, I’ll say whatever. Wasn’t it obvious?’” she said. “And then afterward I was like, ‘Wait. It wasn’t obvious to me.’”
However, she still felt ‘exploited’ by the questions considering she’s a 22-year-old woman.
“I’ve known people that don’t know their sexuality, or feel comfortable with it, until they’re in their forties, fifties, sixties,” she said.
“It takes a while to find yourself, and I think it’s really unfair, the way that the internet bullies you into talking about who you are and what you are.”
Billie Eilish opens up about coming out in her Variety cover story: "I didn't realize people didn't know!" | Variety Hitmakers presented by @sonyelectronics https://t.co/xxmgD0zs3Y pic.twitter.com/uDDbCk6tgp
— Variety (@Variety) December 2, 2023
