This post contains discussion of body image issues.
Can you believe it’s been almost a decade since Billie Eilish uploaded her debut hit “Ocean Eyes” to SoundCloud back in 2015?
“I mean, that’s why I wear big baggy clothes: Nobody can have an opinion, because they haven’t seen what’s underneath, you know?” said Billie in a 2019 campaign for Calvin Klein.
That same year, she expanded on her comments in a video for Vogue Australia, saying, “I want layers and layers and layers and I want to be mysterious. You don’t know what’s underneath and you don’t know what’s on top.”
Also in 2021, she appeared at the Met Gala in a gorgeous ballgown — much more feminine than she had previously been known to wear. And, of course, everyone on the internet decided they had something to say.
“It was like, ‘Billie Eilish’s new style’ and people kept being like, ‘Wow, her new style, it’s so much better than the old style,’” Billie said in an interview with Vanity Fair at the height of the discourse. “Or like, ‘Wow, I wish that we could have her old style back, I’m so sad that she’s just changed into this.’”
Last year, Billie took to Instagram to let the internet trolls know exactly how she felt about them commenting on her body, calling them “women hating ass weirdos.” As she should!
Like so many young women in the spotlight, the criticism that Billie has faced about her body has been relentless. But in a recent interview with Complex, Billie shared that her “body issues” began far before she came into the public eye.
“I never wore pants or shorts when I was a little kid,” said Billie. “But when I got to be about 11, I got obsessed with this brand called Brandy Melville. And they only sold clothes in one size. I was chubbier and I was obsessed with these clothes, but I’d buy a shirt and it wouldn’t fit me.”
She continued, “That’s when my body problems started. I was around the age of 10 or 11. I got boobs at like 9, and I was just developing really early. I wasn’t slim. Also, I was in ballet, and that’s this whole world of body problems.”
Billie then went on to explain that her “body problems” were the origin of her iconic baggy look, saying that the style was how she “could feel comfortable in [her] body and not feel tied to how [her] body looks.”
“I didn’t want my body to be part of my outfit. I wanted my outfit to be my outfit, and my body happens to be inside it,” she concluded.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
