Billie Eilish wants reporters to leave her alone about her coming out

Billie Eilish has confirmed that she came out in a recent profile—though unintentionally.

Last month, the 21-year-old Grammy winner appeared on the cover of Variety’s annual “Power of Women” issue. In the accompanying story, Eilish said that she has “deep connections with women in my life.”

Related: Billie Eilish says she’s “physically attracted” to women after posting a “gay” pic to social media

“I identify as ‘she/her’ and things like that, but I’ve never really felt like a girl.”

“I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence,” she said.

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On Saturday, Eilish and brother/producer Finneas accepted the “Film Song of the Year” award at Variety’s Hitmakers event in Los Angeles for their song “What Was I Made For” from the Barbie soundtrack. On the event’s red carpet, a reporter from the magazine asked Eilish if she meant to come out in the recent cover story.

“No, I didn’t,” a clearly uncomfortable Eilish said. “But I kinda thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious?’ I didn’t realize people didn’t know.”

“We need to get to a point where you don’t even have to come out,” the reporter replied.

“I just don’t really believe in it,” Eilish said. “I’m just like, ‘Why can’t we just exist?’ I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops.”

Eilish added that she hadn’t realized what she’d done until after the profile was published. “I saw the article and was like, ‘Oh, I guess I came out today! OK cool.’”

“But it’s exciting to me because, you know, I guess people didn’t know,” she continued. “So, it’s cool that they know. But, ooh, I’m nervous talking about it. I never talk about it.”

“I am for the girls,” she said.

Billie Eilish opens up about coming out in her Variety cover story: "I didn't realize people didn't know!" | Variety Hitmakers presented by @sonyelectronics https://t.co/xxmgD0zs3Y pic.twitter.com/uDDbCk6tgp

— Variety (@Variety) December 2, 2023

But following Saturday’s event, Eilish seemed less thrilled about having to answer questions about her sexuality. “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,” she wrote in a Sunday Instagram post. “I like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘What was I made for’.”

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A post shared by BILLIE EILISH (@billieeilish)

More troublingly, Eilish appears to have lost a significant number of social media followers since coming out. As PinkNews reports, according to social media analytics site Social Blade, the singer’s follower count on Instagram dropped from 110,300,420 to 110,200,603 since the Variety profile was published in November. Of the nearly 100,000 followers who apparently unfollowed Eilish, 45,000 appear to have unfollowed her since her Saturday appearance at the Hitmakers event.

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