Billie Eilish responds to trolls who criticised her for wearing tank top: ‘This is how I look’

‘I love having kids relate to me and tell me that I make them feel comfortable in their bodies,’ says singer

Billie Eilish has spoken out after she was targeted by body shaming trolls when she was pictured wearing a tank top in the summer.

Speaking to Vanity Fair for a short video Q&A, the 18-year-old singer was asked: “What’s the biggest rumor about you?”

Eilish used the questions as an opportunity to respond to online trolls who have criticised her appearance.

“There’s this picture of me running from my car to my brother’s front door on like a 110 degree day in a tank top,” Eilish said, referencing a photo of herself in Los Angeles.

When the photograph was published, one man went viral for sharing it alongside the caption: “In 10 months Billie Eilish has developed a mid-30's wine mom body”.

The tweet prompted widespread backlash as many people rushed to defend Eilish.

At the time, the singer responded by sharing blogger Chizi Duru’s TikTok video on her Instagram Story feed. 

In the video, Duru said: “Y’all gotta start normalizing real bodies, OK? Not everybody has a wagon behind them, OK? 

“Guts are normal, they’re normal. Boobs sag, especially after breastfeeding. Instagram isn't real.”

Now, recalling the photo, Eilish told Vanity Fair: “People were like, ‘Damn, Billie got fat!’ And I’m like, ‘Nope, this is how I look, you’ve just never seen it before!’ So that’s the most current [rumour].”

Eilish went on to discuss the way that people regard her as a body positivity spokesperson. 

“I think yeah, the reason people are looking up to you is because you're you,” she said. 

“They’re not looking up to you so that you'll tell them something that you never actually tell them.

“They’re looking up to you so that you tell them something that you would tell them yourself."

Eilish continued: “I love having kids relate to me and tell me that I make them feel comfortable in their bodies. Like, if I can do anything I want to do that.”