Billie Eilish Speaks on Becoming a “Sellout”

Billie+Eilish+Speaks+on+Becoming+a+%E2%80%9CSellout%E2%80%9D

Holland Ramos, Writer

Multi-Grammy award winner Billie Eilish spoke out about becoming a “sellout” after making an appearance in British Vogue magazine.

Eilish has been looked at different than some of her other peers for her modest way of dressing. When Eilish posed for British Vogue earlier this month with some uncharacteristically revealing lingerie photos, along with a feature story, critics went wild.

In the piece, Eilish stated that she anticipated some backlash from the shoot but insisted that she didn’t care about being perceived as a hypocrite for going out and about with a new clothing style. She began to clap back at haters by co-signing a viral post in support of her.

Eilish reposted an Instagram post from writer Emily Clarkson, which had over 650,000 likes at the time of her repost. Clarkson posted a screenshot of a Daily Mail article that was titled: “Proof that money can make you change your values and sell out’: Billie Eilish shocks fans by swapping baggy clothes for lingerie in Vogue – despite years of vowing to ‘hide her body.” 

Clarkson had crossed out “Proof that money can make you change your values and sell out” and added, “proof that women can change their minds and reclaim autonomy over their own bodies. She also crossed out “bowing to ‘hide her body’” and replaced it with, “of being an actual child.” Along with Clarkson, many other people have spoken out in Eilish’s defense.

After the media casted Eilish as a “good role model” for wearing conservative clothing and giving her a “body positivity” label, in the very few occasions she’s been seen on social media or by paparazzi in something as “scandalous” as a tank top, she’s been called out or shamed. 

This frustrated Eilish, who said in the Vogue piece, “It made me really offended when people were like, ‘Good for her for feeling comfortable in her bigger skin.’ ” In reality, Eilish calls her body her “deepest insecurity” and “the initial reason for my depression.”

She also stated in the Vogue article that part of her interest in wearing corsets for the shoot is body-image related: “If I’m honest with you, I hate my stomach, and that’s why”. 

Billie Eilish although still working on fully loving her body, she isn’t letting that hold her back from playing with identity expression.