Photo: Getty Images
Fans are not happy.
By Alice Kelly — Written on Jun 22, 2021
Billie Eilish has issued a statement in her Instagram Stories after video resurfaced of her using an anti-Asian slur and purportedly using racist accents.
The accusations came within the same week the 19-year-old singer was accused of queerbaiting in her new music video, and while fans called out the “Lost Cause” singer after racist and homophobic social media posts belonging to her boyfriend, Matthew Tyler Vorce, resurfaced.
What did Billie Eilish do?
Clips of Eilish allegedly demonstrating anti-Asian and anti-Black discrimination resurfaced in a viral TikTok, which has been viewed over 1 million times, and in posts on social media.
Here is exactly what Eilish is accused of saying and doing.
Billie Eilish accused of using anti-Asian racial slurs.
Eilish has been accused of using the word “ch**k” in an undated video believed to have been posted on her old Vine account.
The slur is typically used against people of Chinese descent and is deeply offensive to the Asian community.
In the video, during which Eilish is 13 or 14 years old, she appears to be lip-syncing a song that fans believe includes the word.
In her statement, Eilish admits to using the word while maintaining she did not know its meaning.
"I am appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that I ever mouthed along to that word," she wrote. "This song was the only time I'd ever heard that word as it was never used around me by anyone in my family. Regardless of my ignorance and age at the time, nothing excuses the fact is that it was hurtful. And for that I am sorry."
Photo: Billie Eilish Instagram
Eilish was criticized for mocking Asian accents.
Another video shows Eilish speaking nonsensical words in an accent that some believe is intended to imitate and mock Asian languages.
The clip is brief and it is unclear exactly when or why Eilish made the video, but fans have raised concern that the video was intended to ridicule Asian people.
Eilish addressed this in her statement as well, saying the "accent" was actually a "silly gibberish made up voice" she uses to talk to pets, friends and family.
"It is absolute gibberish and just me goofing around, and is in NO way an imitation of anyone or any language, accent, or culture in the SLIGHTEST," she wrote. "Regardless of how it was interpreted I did not mean for any of my actions to have caused hurt to others and it absolutely breaks my heart that it is being labeled now in a way that might cause pain to people hearing it."
Eilish was also accused of using a "blaccent."
The term “blaccent” has come to describe the use of syntax, vernacular, and tones traditionally associated with Black Americans.
It is a particularly problematic issue within the music industry, as some feel white stars use Black accents as a way of appropriating Black art and culture.
In the clip of Eilish, the young singer could be seen speaking on a live stream with brother and co-producer Finneas. Finneas accuses Eilish of using an accent that is not her own, asks her to stop and end the live.
Did Billie Eilish use the N-word?
The allegations also resurfaced previous accusations that Eilish used the N-word on a live stream.
In early 2021, fans flooded Eilish’s TikTok comments accusing her of using the slur; however, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of her using the word.
Some fans defended Eilish by pointing out that she has Tourette’s and it may have been a tick, while others said that the accusation was entirely false.
Fans accused Eilish of performative activism in the Black Lives Matter movement.
While drawing attention to Eilish’s alleged anti-Asian discrimination, some called out the singer for not using her platform for racial justice.
An old interview clip shows Eilish claiming she will “never stop fighting” for the lives and rights of Black and Brown people.
However, fans claim she only ever posted one Instagram in support of Black Lives Matter, and only attended one protest.
"I not only believe in, but have always worked hard to use my platform to fight for inclusion, kindness, tolerance, equity and equality," Eilish wrote in her story. "We all need to continue having conversations, listening and learning."
Hopefully she is committed to doing just that.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her Twitter for more.