After opening up about her sexuality during her cover story for Variety’s "Power of Women" issue last month, Billie Eilish is now clarifying that she unintentionally did in fact come out publicly in the new interview, but genuinely thought everyone already knew.
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While on the red carpet for Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch event, Billie was asked if she had intended to come out during the interview. Replying, “No I didn’t, but I kinda thought… wasn’t it obvious? I just didn’t realize people didn’t know.”
“I just don’t really believe in it,” she added of the concept of coming out. “I’m just like, ‘Why can’t we just exist?’ I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops.”
“I saw the article and I was like, oh… I guess… I came out today!” she continued. “..OK cool. But it’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know… but it’s cool that they know, ooh I’m nervous talking about it…but no, I am for the girls.”
Despite being “excited” to talk about it, after the event, Billie took to IG to thank and not so subtly call out Variety for turning the passing remark into click-bait.
“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,” she wrote. “I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘what was i made for.’”
In Variety’s "The Power of Women" issue, Eilish initially spoke about her struggle relating to other women, despite the fact that she loved and was attracted to them. “I’ve spent my life loving girls and being really worried that they hate me for some reason, and wanting to impress them and whatever else. And I felt like one with the girls,” Billie shared. “I never really felt like I could relate to girls very well. I love [women] so much. I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real.”
“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.”
And while the outlet naturally latched onto the supposed revelation, more interestingly, Eilish went on to speak about her own complex relationship with womanhood, and how that was impacted by the response to her Barbie movie song, “What Was I Made For?” Sharing that her favorite part of the process is “the fact that it has resonated with so many women.”