Patricia Grisafi
Billie Eilish recently came under fire for video clips allegedly showing her mouthing an anti-Asian slur in a song, imitating an Asian accent, and using a Blaccent. The clips were made when the singer was 13 or 14, but they upset fans. So on Monday night, Eilish took to her Instagram account to talk about the situation and offer an apology.
“Many of you have been asking me to address this. This is something I WANT to address because I’m being labeled something that I am not,” Billie wrote in an Instagram story.
“There’s a video edit going around of me when I was 13 or 14 where I mouthed a word from a song that at the time I didn’t know was a derogatory term used against members of the Asian community. I am appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that I ever mouthed along to that word,” she said.
“This song was the only time I’d ever heard that word, as it was never used around me by anyone in my family. Regardless of my ignorance and age at the time, nothing excuses the fact is that it was hurtful. And for that I am sorry.”
Eilish also explained that she was speaking in “silly gibberish” and that it is “in no way an imitation of anyone or any language, accent, or culture…Anyone who knows me has seen me goofing with voices my whole life.”
“Regardless of how it was interpreted, I did not mean for any of my actions to have caused hurt to others, and it absolutely breaks my heart that it is being labeled now in a way that might cause pain to people hearing it.”
Eilish ended her apology by emphasizing that she has “always worked hard to use my platform to fight for inclusion, kindness, tolerance, equity, and equality.”
Featured Image: Instagram