Once again, Billie Eilish has responded to the criticism she endlessly receives on her evolving style. In a “letter to some comments,” the hit singer made several comebacks to all who have been judging and questioning her ever-changing looks.
Eilish isn’t happy with the comments she’s receiving as she transitions from her baggy t-shirts and basketball shorts to a more feminine-punk style. Eilish began the clapbacks in a series of Instagram stories by stating the following: “I spent the first 5 years of my career getting absolutely OBLITERATED by you fools for being boy ish and dressing how i did & constantly being told i’d be hotter if i acted like a woman.” She calls out those accusing her of being a “sellout” for her change of style, calling them “bozos”.
Billie via her Instagram story! 🤍 pic.twitter.com/n62AQyr8ar
— Billie Eilish Tours (@billieeilishtrs) May 27, 2023
The Grammy-winning singer has openly expressed the reasons as to why she selects certain aesthetics. In a 2019 Calvin Klein campaign, she explains that she donned her old baggy style to avoid comments and attention about her body, “I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean that’s why I wear big, baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath.”
But as Eilish spiced up her style, hate still came into her life. Just one year after the Calvin Klein ad, paparazzi captured the singer in a more form-fitting (yet comfy) outfit that revealed her figure. This resulted in an abundance of sexualized commentary about her body, and Eilish responded to them by reposting on her Instagram a TikTok by Chizi Duru in which the blogger asks for society to normalize real bodies, “Guts are normal; they’re normal. Boobs sag, especially after breastfeeding. Instagram isn’t real.” And this is only one of the many times that Eilish had to defend herself and stand her ground.
That same year, the “Bad Guy” singer posted a short film titled “NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY” which she also utilized to kick-off her shows during her 2020 Where Do We Go World Tour. The empowering video shows Eilish removing her staple oversized zip-up to reveal her figure, saying “We make assumptions about people based on their size. We decide who they are. We decide what they’re worth.”
She ends the video with a series of rhetorical questions, asking “If I wear more, if I wear less, who decides what that makes me? What that means? Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?” This eloquent short-film transcended Eilish further into her search for authenticity and expression through her fashion.
But calling the critics a bunch of “bozos” wasn’t all that the singer wanted (and needed) to say. Eilish continued on to give us a little “fun fact” saying, “did you know that women are multifaceted!!!!!??? shocking right?? believe it or not women could be interested in multiple things.” Say it louder for the people in the back, girlfriend!
Stating that femininity doesn’t equal weakness, Eilish voiced her opinion of self-expression, “totally unheard of and insane to want to express yourself differently at different times.” If Billie wants to wear an oversized tee, then let her. If she wants to wear a dress, then let her. She can rock it all, and that doesn’t make her a “sellout.”
We’ve seen Billie transcend many different styles over the years, from her neon-green hair roots to her iconic blonde girl era and to many, many more – her self-expression through her looks is one-of-a-kind (and never a miss). And while it may be draining to do this repeatedly, we are proud to see Billie dismissing the haters and setting her boundaries. Needless to say, she slays in anything she wears.
Top image: Screen grab from “Billie Eilish – NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY” on YouTube
