Billie Eilish accused Variety of outing her over the weekend after she discussed her sexuality in a cover story for the magazine.
“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,” Eilish, 21, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, December 3. “I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘what was i made for’🥸.”
Eilish attended Variety’s Hitmakers event on Saturday, December 2, and was asked about comments she’d made during a previous interview with the magazine. When a reporter for the outlet asked whether she meant to make her coming out a grand gesture, Eilish said that she didn’t.
“But I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious?’ I didn’t realize people didn’t know,” Eilish said on Saturday. “I just don’t really believe in it. 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.”
Eilish added that she saw the article in question, which was published on November 13. “I was like, ‘Oh I guess I came out today.’ OK, cool. It’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know, but it’s cool that they know,” she said. “I am for the girls.”
In the original interview, Eilish discussed her attraction to women while admitting that she often felt like other women don’t like her. “I’ve never really felt like I could relate to girls very well,” she explained. “I love them so much. I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real.”
She added: “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.”
Eilish went on to discuss her gender identity, explaining that she’s “never felt like a woman” before. “I’ve never felt desirable,” she explained. “I’ve never felt feminine. I have to convince myself that I’m, like, a pretty girl. I identify as ‘she/her’ and things like that, but I’ve never really felt like a girl.”
The Grammy winner previously slammed speculation about her sexuality in an interview with Elle published in September 2021. “Like, oh, yeah, that’s everyone else’s business, right?” she said. “No. Where’s that energy with men?”
Eilish was most recently linked to The Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford. The “Bad Guy” singer and Rutherford, 32, called it quits in May after less than one year of dating. “We can confirm Billie and Jesse did split amicably and remain good friends,” Eilish’s rep told Us Weekly at the time. “All cheating rumors are false. Both are currently single.”
