Billie Eilish has accused Variety magazine of “outing” her on the red carpet and focusing on the topic of her sexuality “rather than anything else that matters”, after attending the magazine’s Hitmakers event on Saturday 2 December. The singer admitted she was confused over the reaction to her statement from an interview in the magazine, in which she said that she was “attracted to” women.
The singer took to Instagram to post a series of images and footage from the event, writing in the caption: “Thanks Variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11am 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’.”
Back in November, in a cover interview released by Variety, the US pop star made a remark where she addressed her struggles in relating to women, despite loving them and being attracted to them. During the interview, she said: “I never 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.”
These quotes sparked headlines that assumed Eilish had confirmed she was attracted to women, despite it not being made clear what exactly she was being asked or if she was simply making a general comment.
Eilish was then approached about the comments on the red carpet during Variety’s Hitmakers event, with a reporter asking if she meant to “come out.”
In footage of the interview, Eilish replies: “No, I didn’t, but I kinda thought… wasn’t it obvious? I just didn’t realise people didn’t know.”
She added that she doesn’t really believe in the concept of coming out: “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.”
Asked about the reaction to her comment, the singer said: “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.” She later appeared to get a little uncomfortable, adding: “Ooh I’m nervous talking about it, I’m nervous talking about it!”
Billie Eilish’s sexuality seems to constantly grab headlines. Last year she told Elle, “I love girls,” before adding: “Like, oh yeah, [my sexuality is] everyone else’s business, right? No. Where’s that energy with men?”
In the interview with Variety that was published in November 2023, Billie said: “I have deep connections with women in my life, the friends in my life, the family in my life. I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.”
