Coming out to announce your sexual orientation is entirely up to each individual’s preferences; some like to communicate it with their surroundings while others don’t, for many reasons.
However, Billie Eilish just reminded people why it is never appropriate to ask anybody about their sexuality without the person’s immediate consent beforehand.
Taking to her Instagram page following a red-carpet interview with Variety asking about ongoing speculations regarding her sexual identity, Billie accused the outlet of “outing” her.
Taking to her Instagram page following a red-carpet interview with Variety asking about her sexual identity, Billie accused the outlet of “outing” her
Image credits: billieeilish
The grammy-award-winning artist wrote: “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.
“I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘what was i made for’.”
Image credits: billieeilish
Billie’s clarification follows her appearance walking the red carpet at Variety’s Hitmakers event on Saturday (December 2), where she was presented with the award for Film Song of the Year alongside her brother Finneas for “What Was I Made For,” which featured in the summer blockbuster Barbie.
While gracing the red carpet, the 21-year-old singer was asked about the viral comments she had made alluding to her sexual orientation during an interview for Variety last month.
In the November profile in Variety, Billie spoke about her feelings for women and said: “I’ve never really felt like I could relate to girls very well"
Image credits: billieeilish
An interviewer asked Billie: “We gotta talk about your cover story because you mentioned that you felt like for a long time, women didn’t like you.
“And when that came out, all the women were like, ‘No, we love her!’ How did that reception feel?”
As she nervously giggled along with the reporter, Billie replied: “I’m still scared of them, but I think they’re pretty.”
The interviewer went on to question: “Billie, did you mean to come out in that story?” to which the Ocean Eyes hitmaker quipped: “Girl, no I didn’t, but I kinda thought, wasn’t it obvious? I didn’t realize people didn’t know.”
She continued: “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.
“But I saw the article, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I came out today!’
“It’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know, but it’s cool that they know.”
“I’m attracted to them for real," Billie told Variety last month
Image credits: billieeilish
Billie followed her answer by admitting that she was “nervous talking about” the subject on the red carpet, before adding: “I am for the girls.”
The interviewer continued her conversation with the music star by asking her about her upcoming album, igniting an enthusiastic answer from Billie, who explained just how “excited” she was for its release.
"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," the singer wrote
Despite the brief exchange appearing friendly at first glance, it is now clear that Billie wasn’t too keen on having her personal life exposed in that unprompted manner.
In the November profile in Variety, Billie spoke about her feelings for women and said: “I’ve never really felt like I could relate to girls very well.
“I love them so much.
“I love them as people.
“I’m attracted to them as people.
“I’m attracted to them for real.”
“Did you mean to come out in that story?” an interviewer asked Billie at Variety’s Hitmakers red-carpet event
Image credits: www.youtube.com
As per the publication, Billie went on to reveal: “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.”
After Billie’s comments regarding her attraction to women, as well as her disappointing red carpet interview, the singer went on to appear in another red carpet event on Sunday (December 3) for the 3rd Annual Academy Museum Gala.
You can watch the red-carpet interview with Variety below:
This is unfortunately not the first time the music talent’s sexuality has been scrutinized.
In an interview with Elle in 2021, Billie revealed that she hadn’t felt safe leaving her own home after her address was leaked online and stalkers and paparazzi started showing up in her yard.
As her fame grew, the musician said she had endured relentless scrutiny on the internet for everything from the way she dresses to whom she dates, “or my sexuality!” she told the publication.
Billie said: “Like, oh yeah, that’s everyone else’s business, right? No.
“Where’s that energy with men?”
Image credits: Taylor Hill/Getty Image
Outing is the act of telling someone else (or others) about a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity without their approval, WebMD states.
The website explains that while in some cases, outing is done without any harmful intent, other times, the person revealing the information does so to retaliate or to bring shame.
It further states that whether outing is deliberate or unintentional, it violates someone's privacy.
“And if you've been outed, it may seriously affect your physical, mental, and financial well-being,” WebMD reveals.
Fans came in support of Billie Eilish
According to the website, outing is different from “coming out,” which is when you voluntarily share your sexual orientation or gender identity.
Additionally, coming out, especially if you have a supportive community to lean on, can bring emotional benefits and even help lower the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.
Outing, on the other hand, takes away the power of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning), or others (LGBTQ+) to tell their own story, the website stated.
Moreover, outing affects people across the gender spectrum, including those who are nonbinary, asexual, or intersex, too.
Some fans were surprised Billie's sexuality wasn't common knowledge
