David Letterman admitted he was clueless about Billie Eilish’s health condition until she spoke up
David Letterman's interview with Billie Eilish garnered the attention of the viewers for the right reasons! During an episode of his Netflix talk show, 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,' Letterman was joined by the Grammy winner, and at one point, the talk show host was stunned after he saw Eilish experiencing a tic on camera. As per Buzzfeed News, Letterman asked Eilish, “What’s going on?” to which the latter replied, "I’m tic-ing." Then, Letterman apologized to Eilish and quipped, "I'm sorry. Did, that bring that on?" In her response, Eilish said, "The Lights." A stunned Letterman uttered, "Really?" Meanwhile, Eilish replied, "Yeah. If you film me for long enough, you’re going to see a lot of tics."
Letterman, who seemed curious to learn about tics, went on to ask Eilish, "Can I ask you anything about them?" to which she retorted, "Yeah, absolutely. It’s really weird. I haven’t talked about it at all. The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny. They think I’m going [imitates tic] as a funny move. And so they go, ‘Ha,’ and I’m always left incredibly offended by that. Or they go [looks around], ‘What?’ and then I go, ‘I have Tourette’s.'”
Later in the episode, Letterman confessed, "See, I was guilty of that. We’re sitting here talking, everything’s fine and then I… Because I’m me, I think I’ve said something that’s pissed you off. I just thought, Oh, she’s fed up with me, but that’s me.” On the other hand, Eilish revealed, "So many people have it that you would never know. A couple of artists came forward and said, I've always had Tourette's.' I'm not going to out them because they don't want to talk about it but that was actually really interesting to me because I was like, 'You do?' Like, 'what?'" Soon after, Letterman told Eilish, “Thank you for including me in this. I appreciate it,” to which she replied by saying, “Thank you for asking. I’m very happy talking about it.” Following that, Letterman exclaimed, “I hope to god what we’ve done here didn’t exacerbate this." Then, Billie reassured him, "No, not at all.”
For the unversed, Eilish was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at the young age of 11. According to a report by Cleveland Clinic, this condition "causes tics, or movements and sounds that you can't control." As per Billboard, while speaking of her symptoms, Eilish said, “I never don’t tic at all, because the main tics that I do are constantly, like, I wiggle my ear back and forth and raise my eyebrow and click my jaw and flex this arm here and this arm there,” she says. “These are things you would never notice if you’re having a conversation with me, but for me, they’re very exhausting.”
Once the episode dropped, the fans gushed over Letterman's conversation with Eilish. One social media user wrote, "I'm so shocked to see an interviewer have so much respect and kindness towards someone, especially someone with a health problem. Absolutely love this, and I'm so happy she's comfortable enough to talk about it and not feel the need to hide." Another person stated, "I love the conversation; he was respectful, yet curious. She was cautious, yet open. Conversation is the key.” Followed by a third fan who stated, "It’s so refreshing to see an interviewer being this respectful." One netizen chimed in, "The fact he was so polite, and asked permission." Another fan echoed the same sentiments and commented, "What an amazing interview. Asking if she’s okay to answer his questions, then asking if she’s comfortable. So respectful and refreshing to see."