The 19-year-old singer revealed that a picture of her that she posted on Instagram of her sparked a wave of criticism among her fans.
Billie Eilish reported that 100,000 of her followers unfollowed her Instagram account after she posted a photo of herself wearing a corset. "People are afraid of big busts," said the 19-year-old singer.
The young she always had a trademark. She was known for wearing iconic green roots with black tips and wearing oversized clothes, but a few months ago, she decided to change her classic look. She dyed her hair, began sporting luminous blonde locks, and started posing in tighter, more experimental outfits.
However, many of her followers did not accept her transformation and let her know. “People hold on to memories and have an attachment. But it's very dehumanizing," Billie said Thursday in an interview with Elle magazine. Likewise, regarding the "rejection" that her fans felt from her when they saw her with a "new appearance", the artist revealed: "I lost 100,000 followers, just because of her bust. People are afraid of a big bust."
The images in question were published by the young woman last July. These are photographs taken from a low angle in which she sees Billie wearing a Miaou brand corset with a print of tomatoes where the word "Tomato" was also read.
While the image was celebrated by many netizens, some haters wrote that the post made them “embarrassed” and that the music industry had changed it.
Billie has been in show business since she was very young and each of her choices is thoroughly analyzed on the networks. Even though she has no intention of being judged or sending a message with her clothes or her hair, she knows she will.
“The other day I decided to wear a tank top. It wasn't even a provocative shirt. But I know people are going to say, 'She's dressing s-xy and she's trying to make a statement.' And the truth is that no, I'm not trying to do that. It's 500 degrees and I just want to wear a tank top,'" she said.
The accusations
Last May, the artist posed for the cover of Vogue UK magazine. On that occasion, the young woman decided to wear a set of lingerie, high-heeled shoes, and wear a new hair color, and she referred to the relationship of women with her body.
“It's about what makes you feel good. If you want to have surgery, have surgery. If you want to wear a dress that someone thinks makes you look giant, fuck it, if you feel like you look good, you look good." As if she could have anticipated the criticism she received, she added: “Suddenly you're a hypocrite if you want to show your skin, you automatically become a p... If I am, then I'm proud. Me and all the girls are p..., and fuck it. Let's turn it around and make it a power factor. Showing your body or not showing your body shouldn't be a reason for them not to respect you."
Despite the strong message that she sought to give the artist, criticism was not long in coming. The Daily Mail newspaper even accused her of "selling out" and of changing her speech regarding her relationship with her body and the way of showing it. The article was headlined: "Proof Money Can Change Your Values And Sell You Out: Billie Eilish Fans Shocked To See Singer Swap Baggy Clothes For Lingerie Despite Promising She'd Hide Her Body."
Despite the criticism, several voices were raised to defend Billie. "I'll fix it for you," wrote the British journalist and feminist activist Emily Clarkson, in an image that went viral and that Billie herself shared on her Instagram Stories. In the Daily Mail headline capture, Clarkson argues that, in reality, the Vogue UK production is "Proof that women can change their minds and claim autonomy over their bodies." In addition, she points out that, instead of having "broken a promise", Eilish simply formed a new opinion, different from the ones she expressed as a teenager.
"She hid her body for years because she didn't want to be s-xualized," Clarkson wrote in the post the singer shared. “She made this decision when she was a child. Because she knew how adults can be. These decisions are the ones we've all made: 'School skirts shouldn't be too short or it will distract the kids!' She went to those extremes because she had to,” she maintained.
