[Insert Celebrity Here] has been outed against their will. (An ongoing theme, I guess.) Despite being the year of our lord 2023, this time, Billie Eilish is in the spotlight for liking “boys and girls.”
As a queer person myself, coming out was literally the sweatiest I’ve ever been. So, to do it while cameras zoomed in on you, I’m shocked she didn’t melt into the floor.
From Kit Connor to Raven Symone, queer stars have historically addressed their sexuality for the entertainment of the masses — whether they wanted to or not. Props to Billie for her massive subtweet for calling out the shitty behavior.
In an Instagram post addressing the red carpet interrogation, she wrote: “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.'” Queer performers like Lucy Dacus and Hunter Schafer commented with supportive emojis, and Tyler, The Creator, commented, “Talk yo shit auntie.”
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Blissfully unaware of the latest internet drama? Kudos to you. If you need a reason to hate-scroll and yell, “Why god? Why?” at the sky, keep reading for hyper-specific details (and timeline) about the latest feud between the media and queer celebs.
What’s Going On With Billie Eilish And Variety
The Instagram post may have been the shot heard around the world, but it was certainly not the beginning of the drama between Variety and the “What Was I Made For” singer.
Weeks before the red carpet interview, speculation around Billie’s sexual orientation stemmed from Variety’s November cover interview (released Nov. 13), where Billie said, “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.”
Of course, this sent fans into a tizzy, and some even assumed it was Billie officially coming out. But you know what they say when you assume. You make an ass out of you and me. (I’m sorry, I had to!!!)
Fast forward to Variety’s Hitmakers event nearly three weeks later, when their reporter asked the singer to clarify her intention behind the quote. Did she mean to come out? “No, I didn’t,” Billie said. “But I kind of thought, Wasn’t it obvious? I didn’t realize people didn’t know.” She added that she doesn’t “believe in” coming out. “Why can’t we just exist?” she said. Billie added: “I saw the article, and I was like, Oh, I guess I came out today. Okay, cool.”
The Instagram post, which singled out the red-carpet interview, had some fans pushing back against Billie, saying she outed herself in the original interview. To be fair, it’s a bit confusing to read Billie’s Instagram post suggesting that the coming-out topic came out of nowhere when it obviously stemmed from the cover story. Either way, it sucks that Eilish didn’t expect to address her sexuality at 11 am. Same girl, same.
Why Are We So Fixated On Celebrities’ Sexuality, Like, In General?
Whether or not you believe Billie outed herself, it was made evident in her Instagram post that she hadn’t intended to slap a label on her sexuality until the media pressed her for answers. And that just plain sucks.
Sure, celebrities have the responsibility of a platform. But they still deserve space and time before sharing it with the world. And it’s especially not worth it if it will lead to an Instagram post of someone sitting on the toilet, no matter how cool their belt buckle is (Billie, for real, where did you get it?).
Listen, it makes sense to me that queer fans want more representation. I mean, I covered my 2023 vision board in cut-outs of Kristen Stewart from her InStyle cover shoot. And yes, I’m guilty of going down a Gaylor rabbit hole or hoping and praying Megan Fox will DM me. But putting pressure on people to “come out” is super cringe. So, let’s do ourselves a favor and keep this shit to ourselves, and trust that our fave celebs will share that part of themselves when or if they’re ready. Cool? Cool.
