Billie Eilish has opened up about feeling 'outed' on the red carpet

'The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it.'

Billie Eilish attends the 2023 Variety Hitmakers Brunch at NYA WEST on December 02, 2023 in Hollywood
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Billie Eilish is reflecting on being 'outed,' and her reaction to it, months after it all unfolded.

In her new interview with Rolling Stone, the singer-songwriter discussed her song Lunch in which she sings: "I could eat that girl for lunch / And she dances on my tongue / Tastes like she might bе the one."

Billie explained how writing this song helped her better understand her own sexuality.

"That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real," she revealed. "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 vagina. I was never planning on talking about my sexuality ever, in a million years. It’s really frustrating to me that it came up."

That last sentence was in reference to something she said in a Variety interview last November. At the time, she told the publication: "I've never really felt like I could relate to girls very well. I love them so much. I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real."

Many articles speculating about Billie's sexuality ensued, referencing the singer's attraction to women, but she didn't become publicly upset by it all until a Variety reporter asked her on the red carpet if she meant to come out in that interview.

"No I didn’t," she said at the time. "But I kind of thought, 'Wasn’t it obvious?' I didn’t realise people didn’t know. But I saw the article, and I was like, 'Oh I guess I came out today.' OK cool. It’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know, but it’s cool that they know. I am for the girls."

However, shortly after the red-carpet event, Billie posted on Instagram writing: "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'"

A post shared by BILLIE EILISH

A photo posted by billieeilish on

In her most recent Rolling Stone interview, though, Billie said that she 'overreacted' at the time but that she felt 'pressured' into talking about it.

She said: "Who f***ing cares? The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it. Nobody should be pressured into being one thing or the other, and I think that there’s a lot of wanting labels all over the place.

"Dude, I’ve known people that don’t know their sexuality, or feel comfortable with it, until they’re in their forties, fifties, sixties. 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."

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.