She has become known for her extremely baggy and desexualized outfits, but earlier this year after sharing a rare bikini clad snap from vacation she was hit by slut-shamers.
And now Billie Eilish is responding to those who offer opinions on her life, from her music to her opinions, body and clothes with a short film released on Youtube, Tuesday.
The nearly four minute video, Not My Responsibility, shows the 18-year-old removing layers of clothing in clips that originally debuted on her Where Do We Go? World Tour, that was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hitting back: Billie Eilish is responding body shames and those who offer opinions on her life, from her music to her opinions, body and clothes with a short film released on Youtube, Tuesday
The short film was produced and written by Billie (born Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell) and she is the only person shown on screen.
Sitting alone in a black room, with dark lighting only hitting her, the camera follows her long black nail clad hands unzipping her black hoodie.
She recites ‘Do you know me? Really know me? You have opinions about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body.’
It shows the young popstar has been struck by the constant conversation around her personality, often dark lyrics, and what she is or isn’t wearing.
Producer Billie: The nearly four minute video, Not My Responsibility, produced and written by Billie, shows her removing layers of clothing in clips that originally debuted on her Where Do We Go? World Tour, that was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic
Layers: Sitting alone in a black room, with dark lighting only hitting her, the camera follows her long black nail clad hands unzipping her black hoodie
Billie has had a meteoric rise to fame, she became an internet and music sensation with her hit Ocean Eyes, released on Soundcloud in 2015.
Her first album When We Fall Asleep, where do we go? in 2019, and went on to sweep all of the major categories at the 2020 Grammy’s.
Winning Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year she became the only woman and youngest artist to ever do so.
In the video, she continued with the haunting lines ‘some people hate what I wear, some people praise, it some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me, but I feel you watching always and nothing I do goes unseen.’
Stop talking: She recites ‘Do you know me? Really know me? You have opinions about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body.’ It shows the young popstar has been struck by the constant conversation around her personality, often dark lyrics, and what she is or isn’t wearing
Quick rise: Billie has had a meteoric rise to fame, she became an internet and music sensation with her hit Ocean Eyes, released on Soundcloud in 2015. Her first album When We Fall Asleep, where do we go? in 2019, and went on to sweep all of the major categories at the 2020 Grammy’s
Continuing to remove layers before sliding into dark water she continues ‘So while I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sigh of relief if I lived by them I’d never be able to move.
She went on to list questions for those who pick apart her life.
‘Would you like me to be smaller? weaker? softer? taller?’ she said. ‘Would you like me to be quiet? do my shoulders provoke you? does my chest? am I my stomach? my hips? the body I was born with is it not what you wanted?’
‘If I wear what is comfortable I am not a woman,’ the Bad Guy singer continued via voice over. ‘if I shed the layers I’m a slut though you’ve never seen my body you still judge it and judge me for it why?’
Torn opinions: In the video, she continued with the haunting lines ‘some people hate what I wear, some people praise, it some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me, but I feel you watching always and nothing I do goes unseen’
Sinking: Continuing to remove layers before sliding into dark water she continues ‘So while I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sigh of relief if I lived by them I’d never be able to move
What would make you happy: She went on to list questions for those who pick apart her life. ‘Would you like me to be smaller? weaker? softer? taller?’ she said. ‘Would you like me to be quiet? do my shoulders provoke you? does my chest? am I my stomach? my hips? the body I was born with is it not what you wanted’
In the final lines of the short film she continues with her perspective on the assumptions society makes and makes the declaration that others views are not weighing on her shoulders.
‘We make assumptions about people based on their size,’ Billie says. ‘We decide who they are we decide what they’re worth 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.’
In less than a day the video garnered over 600k views and 499k likes on Youtube, where she boasts over 30m followers.
Speaking to Dazed for her cover interview earlier this year she opened up about being slut-shamed earlier this year after she shared a ‘tame’ video of herself from the shoulders up in a bikini while on vacation in Hawaii with friends.
Double standard: Her signature look, Billie has mentioned before that she chooses to wear baggy clothes, partially not wanting to be sexualized, but also having to do with her own body image.
‘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. I can-not win.’
In the past, she’s revealed the reasoning behind her signature look, partially not wanting to be sexualized, but also having to do with her own body image.
She told Vogue in her March cover interview: ‘I just hated my body. I would have done anything to be in a different one.’
Eilish added: ‘I really wanted to be a model, really bad, and I was chubby and short. I developed really early. I had boobs at nine. I got my period at 11. So my body was going faster than my brain.’
She also revealed to Dazed that her issues with body image have gotten to the point where she doesn’t even want to look at her reflection.
Backlash: After sharing a video earlier this year wearing a bikini on vacation, she was hit by slut shamers, in a rare appearance not wearing her signature baggy clothes
Body image: In the past, she’s revealed the reasoning behind her signature look, partially not wanting to be sexualized, but also having to do with her own body image (pictured in February, 2020)
The Bad Guy artist said: ‘There was a point last year where I was naked and I didn’t recognize my body ’cause I hadn’t seen it in a while. I would see it sometimes and be like, “Whose body is that?”‘
But she said she’s gotten better about it: ‘It’s not that I like (my body) now, I just think I’m a bit more OK with it.’
Still, Eilish feels somewhat boxed in by her own signature look, and she knows changing it up could cause even more backlash.
She said: ‘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 can’t stress it enough.
‘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.’
SRC: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
