Billie Eilish on Coming Out: ‘I Didn’t Realize People Didn’t Know’
On Saturday, Billie Eilish confirmed that she recently came out in her Variety Power of Women cover story, in which she first revealed her attraction to women. The Grammy-winning superstar walked the red carpet at Variety‘s Hitmakers event, our invite-only celebration of the biggest songs of the year, where she revealed that she didn’t intend to make a grand gesture of “coming out.”
“No I didn’t,” Eilish said. “But I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious’? I didn’t realize people didn’t know. 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 continued, “But I saw the article, and 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 added: “I am for the girls.”
In the November profile in Variety, Eilish spoke about her feelings for women, telling Variety‘s Katcy Stephan, “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.”
“I have deep connections with women in my life, the friends in my life, the family in my life,” she explained. “I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.”
At the Hitmakers event, the singer received the prize for Film Song of the Year alongside her brother Finneas for “What Was I Made For,” featured in the summer blockbuster “Barbie.”
Variety’s Tiana DeNicola asked if her perspective on how other women feel about her has changed after the publication of the story. Eilish replied, “I’m still scared of them, but I think they’re pretty!”
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