Billie Eilish's 'big boobs' caused her to lose 100K followers: 'It’s very dehumanizing'
Popstar Billie Eilish revealed she lost about a hundred thousand followers on Instagram after she debuted her latest look. And the 19-year-old musician claimed that the unfollows happened because of her breasts.
Eilish was the subject of Elle magazine’s cover story for October. In the profile titled ‘Billie Eilish Is Calling the Shots’ by Molly Lambert, Eilish spoke about her sense of style and body image issues.
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Lambert wrote, “Even the simple act of getting dressed has posed challenges for Eilish, who spent the early years of her career honing a silhouette specifically designed to deflect attention from her body.” The profile further said, “Many of her fans were deeply attached to her signature oversize-streetwear, skater-goth aesthetic, which some saw as a refusal to be sexualized. So when she started experimenting with new looks, occasionally stepping out in more form-fitting clothes, the reaction from certain fans was swift — and vicious.”
It said that in the comments section of an Instagram post she shared on July 11, which featured Eilish wearing a Miaou tomato-print corset with a lace bra peeking out, she was shamed with comments like “disingenuous,” and, “cringy asf,” and, “The industry really changed you huh smh.”
Lambert wrote that while Eilish understands why some fans “might want her to remain suspended — Peter Pan-like — in the exact state in which they first encountered her,” the ‘Bad Guy’ hitmaker struggled with reactions like these. “People hold on to these memories and have an attachment. But it’s very dehumanizing,” she said. “I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs. People are scared of big boobs.”
"I had no goal of, 'This is going to make everybody think differently of me.' I've had different-colored hair and vibes for everything I've ever done. I wanted this album to have its own thing," Eilish said. "The other day, I posted a video from when I had green hair, and I saw people go, 'I miss this Billie, the green-haired Billie.' I'm still the same person. I'm not just different Barbies with different heads."
Back in July, in an interview with the Guardian, Eilish said, “When I’m on stage, I have to disassociate from the ideas I have of my body. Especially because I wear clothes that are bigger and easier to move in without showing everything — they can be really unflattering. In pictures, they look like I don’t even know what. I just completely separate the two. Because I have such a terrible relationship with my body, like you would not believe, so I just have to disassociate… Then you get a paparazzi picture taken when you were running to the door and had just put anything on, and didn’t know the picture’s being taken, and you just look how you look, and everyone’s like, ‘Fat!’”
“The problem is, we still live in a very sexist world where women are put into categories,” Elle magazine quoted pop star Madonna in the profile. “You’re either in the virgin category or the whore category. Billie started off in a non-sexualized category, not pandering to the masses and not using her sexuality in any way, which is her choice and God bless her for that — after all, she’s been a teenager all this time. [But] if she wants to turn around and take photographs where she is portrayed as a feminine woman, showing her body in a way that she hasn’t in the past, then why should she be punished for it?”
“Women should be able to portray themselves in any way they want,” she continued. “If Billie were a man, no one would be writing about this. A man can show up dressed in a suit and tie for the first three years of his career, and then the next month he could be dressed like Prince or Mick Jagger, shirt off, wearing eyeliner, and no one would say a word.”
On Instagram, Eilish received positive comments on the aforementioned post. “Billie, don't let the world pressure you to be something your not. Don't let them pressure you into conformity. You are beautiful no matter what you wear, you're beautiful for being yourself in every way! Don't lose confidence over the opinions of sheep, don't lose sleep over the opinions of others,” said one fan.
On Twitter, one fan wrote, “@billieeilish you do you. F those who can’t handle it. I am for body diversity cause, like anything else in the world, if it’s all the same then that’s just boring as F. And if YOU are good with what you are wearing, then that’s all that matters.”
@billieeilish you do you. F those who can’t handle it. I am for body diversity cause, like anything else in the world, if it’s all the same then that’s just boring as F. And if YOU are good with what you are wearing, then that’s all that matters.
— RF (@moocowter) September 23, 2021