Billie Eilish has vowed to never talk about her sexuality and love life publicly “ever again”.
During a new cover interview with Vogue, the ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ pop star reflected on a conversation with Variety last year, in which she revealed that she was attracted to women.
Later, a reporter asked Eilish whether she meant to come out. “I didn’t,” she responded, “but I kinda thought, wasn’t it obvious? I didn’t realise people didn’t know.” The singer-songwriter then hit out at Variety for “outing” her, adding: “I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares.”
However, Eilish admitted earlier this year that she had “overreacted” to the incident but said “nobody should be pressured into being one thing or the other”.
Vogue broached the topic in its new interview after noting that ‘Guess’ – Eilish’s recent collaboration with Charli XCX – “feels like a furthering of something” she had started on ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’.
“Charli likes boys, but she knows I’d hit it,” Eilish sings on the remix.
She told the publication: “I wish no one knew anything about my sexuality or anything about my dating life. Ever, ever, ever.
“And I hope that they never will again. And I’m never talking about my sexuality ever again. And I’m never talking about who I’m dating ever again.”
Eilish continued: “I guess I also underestimate that things I say will be blown up into the biggest news of the whole world. That’s so unnatural. We’re all babies. We’re all little kids growing up and learning ourselves.”
Over the summer, her brother and collaborator Finneas responded to a commenter calling Eilish’s ‘Guess’ verse “predatory” and accusing her of “queerbaiting for commercial gain”.
He wrote: “What a take you little clown. I got to watch the entire internet slam my sister for queer-baiting for an entire year when in reality, you were all forcing her to label and out herself.”
Finneas was referring to the backlash Eilish received upon promoting her 2021 song ‘Lost Cause’, whose video was accused of “queer-baiting”.
The star sang about a female love interest on the ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ single ‘Lunch’ (“I could eat that girl for lunch… It’s a craving, not a crush“). Speaking to Rolling Stone in April, Eilish explained how the track had helped her come to terms with her sexuality.
“I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after,” she said at the time.
“I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand – until, last year, I realised I wanted my face in a vagina. That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real.”
Eilish dated Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford for around seven months between 2022 and 2023. In May of this year, she called him “one of my favourite people in the world”.
“I plan on never dating again,” she said at the time. “That’s not true, obviously. But no, I don’t see myself being serious with anyone until I find someone that really feels right to me, and that is not interesting to me right now.”
Eilish is currently on the North American leg of her ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ world tour. She’ll head to the UK and Ireland next summer, with that portion of the trek including six nights at London’s O2.
Visit here for any remaining North American tickets, and here for UK/Ireland tickets.
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