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    1. Celebrity News

    Billie Eilish has opened up about feeling 'outed' on the red carpet

    'The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it.'

    Iris Goldsztajn's avatar
    By Iris Goldsztajn
    Published 25 April 2024 In News

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    Billie Eilish attends the 2023 Variety Hitmakers Brunch at NYA WEST on December 02, 2023 in Hollywood
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
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    Billie Eilish is reflecting on being 'outed,' and her reaction to it, months after it all unfolded.

    In her new interview with Rolling Stone, the singer-songwriter discussed her song Lunch in which she sings: "I could eat that girl for lunch / And she dances on my tongue / Tastes like she might bе the one."

    Billie explained how writing this song helped her better understand her own sexuality.

    "That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real," she revealed. "I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand — until, last year, I realized I wanted my face in a vagina. I was never planning on talking about my sexuality ever, in a million years. It’s really frustrating to me that it came up."

    That last sentence was in reference to something she said in a Variety interview last November. At the time, she told the publication: "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."

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    Many articles speculating about Billie's sexuality ensued, referencing the singer's attraction to women, but she didn't become publicly upset by it all until a Variety reporter asked her on the red carpet if she meant to come out in that interview.

    "No I didn’t," she said at the time. "But I kind of thought, 'Wasn’t it obvious?' I didn’t realise people didn’t know. 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. I am for the girls."

    Marie Claire Newsletter

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    However, shortly after the red-carpet event, Billie posted on Instagram writing: "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'"

    A post shared by BILLIE EILISH

    A photo posted by billieeilish

    In her most recent Rolling Stone interview, though, Billie said that she 'overreacted' at the time but that she felt 'pressured' into talking about it.

    She said: "Who f***ing cares? The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it. Nobody should be pressured into being one thing or the other, and I think that there’s a lot of wanting labels all over the place.

    "Dude, I’ve known people that don’t know their sexuality, or feel comfortable with it, until they’re in their forties, fifties, sixties. It takes a while to find yourself, and I think it’s really unfair, the way that the internet bullies you into talking about who you are and what you are."

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    Billie Eilish
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Iris Goldsztajn
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    Freelance News Writer

    Iris Goldsztajn is a freelance news writer for Marie Claire UK. She covers celebrity and royal news, and has previously written for titles including Marie Claire US, InStlyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red.

    Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, she is especially interested in debunking diet culture and de-stigmatising mental health struggles.

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