Billie Eilish is ‘jealous’ of people without social media, wishes she could delete it

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Billie Eilish is still promoting her latest album, Happier Than Ever. The theme of the promotion is 19-year-old Billie telling everyone that she’s changed, that she’s experimenting, that people need to stop freaking out about every little thing about her life. While Billie absolutely, 100% has the right to do and say whatever the f–k she wants, I do feel like she’s blaming her fans for being interested in her life when she’s spent the better part of three years giving confessional interviews. But, again, she’s 19. She hasn’t learned how to self-edit and it would be weird if she was some hyper-managed pop star spouting the weak bromides her publicist gave her. So with all that in mind, here are some highlights from her Elle cover profile:

The interest in her romantic life: “Or my sexuality! Like, oh yeah, that’s everyone else’s business, right? No. Where’s that energy with men? I just wanted to make a song once, and then I kept making songs. I never said, ‘Hey, pay attention to my life.’ All my friends know I don’t wanna see any of [the negative chatter]. When people send me something mean, it hurts my soul.”

Her fans are mad that she’s changed her image: “People hold on to these memories and have an attachment. But it’s very dehumanizing.” There was a freak-out online when she posted a photo in lingerie. “I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs. People are scared of big boobs.”

She’s still evolving: “You’re not even supposed to really know who you are until you’re at least my age or older.”

Why she went blonde: “I couldn’t go anywhere with that hair because it was so obviously me. I wanted anonymity… 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.” Still, many fans resisted the new look, and made their opinions known. “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.”

She’s not going to wear excessively baggy clothes when it’s hot either: “The other day, I decided to wear a tank top. It wasn’t even a provocative shirt. But I know people are going to say, ‘Holy f–k, she’s dressing sexy and trying to make a statement.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not. It’s 500 degrees and I just want to wear a tank top.’”

She feels burned-out on social media. “I’m jealous of people who don’t have it. I really wish that there was a way to avoid it. Literally delete my account but still have contact with the fans. I want to be able to have both, but you can’t.”

She’s not beefing with Olivia Rodrigo: “It’s sad because girls are trained to be competitive with each other. And all the people who have modified their bodies or their faces and then deny it make it worse.” To be clear, she is not against changing your body with plastic surgery or beauty filters; she just believes in disclosure. “I totally understand Facetuning a pimple… Just don’t lie about ‘Oh yeah, that’s just naturally how it looks.’”

[From Elle]

I imagine this is how a lot of teens feel these days, always on alert for people talking sh-t about them on social media, always hyper-conscious of how they’re being perceived, with social media simply magnifying that times a million. She honestly should delete her accounts. Not because she “can’t handle” Instagram or the comments. She should delete her accounts just to find a different headspace, and to get to know herself without a million other voices in her head. I understand why she thinks she needs it, to promote her work and to be able to talk to her fans. But really… she could hand off her Instagram account to a publicist and delete the app from her phone and just get some peace. Oh, and I love the blonde hair. I think it looks so good on her.

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Covers & IG courtesy of Elle.

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33 Responses to “Billie Eilish is ‘jealous’ of people without social media, wishes she could delete it”

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  1. Boxy Lady says:

    Since she became a blonde, every time I see her, I think “Scarlett Johannson’s baby sister.” LOL
    I am sad for her regarding social media. I thank my lucky stars that I am old enough to have grown up without that kind of extra pressure and social surveillance.

  2. remarks says:

    Social media can be exhausting. At least, I find it a bit tiring, and my follower count is very little. Even social media for business purposes feels tiring to me.

    I’ve actually wondered how artists focus with that extra noise.

  3. Mimi says:

    I still have my fb account (for messenger) and my Insta but never even go on them lol life is much better without it… I just use Snapchat to talk to ppl

  4. Stacy Dresden says:

    I know their social media is a scary place and I feel for her. She probably can’t stop using it because of her industry career. Sounds reasonable.

  5. Willow says:

    She’s 19. I can hear it in every answer. I remember when Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and other young superstars went through this. It is hard enough to be this age, and then have the media, and now the relentless social media endlessly putting in their 2 cents. I wish I could help her, but I am terrible with that age group.

  6. CE says:

    You absolutely can delete social media and survive. Didn’t Selena Gomez do it? I deleted Facebook and don’t miss it except to see photos but I can live without all the toxic negativity. I use my Instagram as sort of a burner account to communicate with people also. I get it’s hard to detach but very, very possible.

  7. remarks says:

    The weird thing about social media is that even if you’re not addicted to posting content, you can still wind up addicted to lurking and reading comments. I find I always want to go to the comments section of Instagram accounts and Youtube channels. It doesn’t really bring anything useful to my life, but I feel an urge to do it.

  8. duchess of hazard says:

    She’s rich enough to get a social media maven to do this task for her.

  9. Jules says:

    And why can’t she just delete it? Because everything about her life and public persona is completely orchestrated.

    • remarks says:

      I suspect her management pressures her to have an account. It’s probably an easy way to promote all your projects. They probably frame it to her as a necessity.

      I think the logical thing to do is to get rid of it, but I can see why entertainers on the younger side feel compelled not to. They probably have grown up with it, thinking it’s necessary to being successful

      I predict she’ll delete is when she’s 24. like Lorde. That seems to be the age when an entertainer realizes they can go without it.

  10. Mel says:

    Yes social media can be soul sucking however I am so sick of celebrities complaining about things they “have” to do.
    You don’t “have” to take part in social media but you’re so terrified of losing relevancy and therefore fame you succumb to it.
    It’s called priorities. Do you want peace or fame? Point is they all need to STFU already.
    I’m tired of hearing people bitch whose every dream and wish has come true.

    • remarks says:

      I think complaining about fame is futile. Complaining about the actual concept of fame seems useless to me if you’re in a fame-oriented seeking profession.

      But I can see why they’d complain about social media as a technology. None of us really seem to like it, and none of us are famous and don’t HAVE to use it, but we all have accounts and keep using it. It’s very rare to meet someone in 2021 who actually admits to liking it, unless it’s one of those parents who like posting pictures of their newborn. They’re the ones who seem to get any kind of joy from it. We even use Facebook to complain about Facebook. It’s kind of hilarious.

      • Holland S says:

        Not me. Facebook is immoral. It’s done more harm than good. Hate social media. Wouldn’t use it again.

      • remarks says:

        At this point, Facebook is like an address book for me. I don’t really post often, but if I want to get in contact with someone whose phone number I don’t have, it’s the easiest way to get hold of them without seeming a little odd. I think that’s the only reason I still have an account. If it wasn’t for the fear of letting a new or old friend slip through my fingers, I’d delete the account immediately.

        I don’t think Facebook serves a useful role in my life, I don’t need to interact with anyone or to see what’s going on in their lives. But like I said it’s almost like an address book where I can call up on someone I’m not in frequent contact with if I need to. The loss of that address book, in a way, is the only thread keeping me hanging on.

        My actual addiction is more to the comments sections on Youtube and Instagram accounts. Not sure what that’s about since I don’t know know anyone commenting. I should work on it.

  11. Louise177 says:

    I don’t think Billie is attacking or blaming her fans. Just annoyed by the overzealous ones who feel that they have a say in her life. She probably feels if someone else takes over her accounts it won’t feel authentic.

  12. MarcelMarcel says:

    I hadn’t really listened to her music before. But her new single popped up on my Spotify so I checked the album. It’s a banger imo.
    And I understand her relationship with Instagram. I’ve found it helpful to delete the app over the weekend but I’m considering going on a longer detox.

  13. DuchessL says:

    I’m rolling my eyes. If she wants to do music she can. If she wants to quit social media she can. She can also have her people deal with it. I find this cheap attention seeking

  14. Oria says:

    Well, that’s the thing, the need for acknowledgement and acceptance is bigger than the need for peace with these teens.

    The reason I never truly found Billy that exciting is the fact that she hides her need to be seen behind the bs of her “just wanting to make music”.
    If you honestly want to delete social media, just do it. But she won’t because she’s selling a product and have this need to be seen and heard.
    I find people like that problematic, hungry for fame and acknowledgement, and when they get it they complain.
    Just stop doing what you do, there’s not a gun to your head. You can do it differently without chasing fame and money if music is the most important thing for you.

    A very famous friend of mine told me once: If you really want to be out of the limelight it’s easy to not be. If you don’t want people to notice you, it’s easy to go under the radar. Being famous and interesting for people is more work.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      I agree. If she wants to delete it, she can. So why whine about it if she won’t delete it? The fans aren’t going to stop making nasty comments, that’s certain. She’s an adult and she can delete it. If her manager seems to be hanging this over her head, maybe she needs to find another manager, or possibly tell her manager she is the one paying the bills and salaries NOT them. She can set the boundaries.

  15. Ruby says:

    Eyeroll. The world will not end if she doesn’t go on Instagram. Get someone to do it for you if you can’t control your useage like a huge proportion of all other popstars do.
    We all managed to survive without it before, it is not the be all and end all. Just use it for work and get someone else to monitor and post. What a non-problem.
    She’s just flavour of the month. She will drift away like so many others. She just doesn’t have the star power to stick around long term unless she writes some flipping amazing songs, which is currently not the case.

  16. Eleonor says:

    I am so glad I was a teen withoug social media.
    And for what she says I think her menagement doesn’t let her be.
    Lorde deleted all of her accounts, but I guess the US way doesn’t have too much respect of its stars.

  17. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    If she really wanted social media distance, she’d have it. I’m quite sure she has a team orbiting her every move. And in the grand scheme of life, having 100,000 unsubscribers because you went from green to blonde is hardly a relevant number on the Richter scale. Live and learn oh thee wee and weary.

  18. Coco says:

    Why doesn’t she just get someone else to run her social media accounts if she feels she needs them.

    I’m not sure why she making a big deal of it, in her last couple of interviews.

  19. rainbowkitty says:

    there are artists who don’t have personal social accounts, just ones for their brand. And there are celebs who have private socials just for their inner circle. There are ways around it if she truly wants a temporary or permanent break from being online.
    Probably an unpopular opinion but I find her exhausting. To me she comes off as smug and entitled.

  20. teecee says:

    She’s 19. Some of y’all need to examine why you’re so annoyed with a teenage girl saying the same thing most teenage girls are saying right now.

    • Otaku fairy says:

      Agreed. Besides that though, women should be able to make use of public spaces *and* openly discuss any gross and disrespectful treatment going on in those public spaces. Whether those spaces are online or offline.

  21. Katherine says:

    I know I’m probably just looking for proof of my point, but here’s another person who went from a non-sexy image to sexy and people hate on her (and yes, I’ve read and comprehended that she’s not doing this on purpose and this is who she naturally is – I’m not blaming her for “getting sexy”, if she has it naturally more power to her, if someone works on it on purpose – also wonderful, why the hell not? I’m blaming society; women should be allowed to look sexy and not be threatened by suspicion, judgement, questions, and, well, hate). I haven’t seen an honestly hot female celeb who did not have to face this seething hate.

  22. mae says:

    Ironic she’s saying the plastic surgery thing considering she’s had a nose job, a lot of lip filler, and maybe even chin reduction. Just another lying celeb.

  23. Watcher says:

    Kaiser called out exactly how she CAN step away – just hand the handles over to the publicist and forget it. Turn off notifications, you’re done.

  24. Amando says:

    She could have someone else run her social media account or remove the ability for comments. There are ways to deal with it. The change in her style did cause waves, but we are used to young stars transitioning to young women. They all do the same thing like there’s a handbook for it. Blonde hair, check. Revealing clothing, check. Sexier songs/videos, check. LOL