Entertainment

Billie Eilish says she was outed in a red carpet interview: 'I like boys and girls — who cares'

Billie Eilish at the 2023 Variety Hitmakers Brunch at NYA WEST in Hollywood, California.
Billie Eilish at the 2023 Variety Hitmakers Brunch at NYA WEST in Hollywood, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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Billie Eilish is speaking out after being asked about her sexuality at a red-carpet event hosted by Variety.

The "Bad Guy" singer attended the Hollywood publication's "Hitmakers" event Saturday, where she and her brother Finneas won film song of the year for "What Was I Made For?" from the "Barbie" soundtrack.

On the red carpet, Eilish was asked whether she meant to come out in a Variety interview published in November.

On Sunday, the singer addressed the incident in a pointed post on Instagram.

In the caption, 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.'"

Representatives for Variety did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

At Saturday's red carpet event, Eilish said that she didn't expect her comments about her sexuality in the magazine interview to be so surprising.

"No, I didn't," said the singer when asked if she intended to come out in the interview.

"But I kind of thought, 'Wasn't it obvious?' I didn't realize people didn't know. I just don't really believe in it. I'm just like, 'Why can't we just exist?'" Eilish continued.

The singer added: "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, so it's cool that they know."

Eilish, 21, appeared on the cover of Variety's "Power of Women" issue in November and briefly discussed being attracted to women.

She 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."

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Eammon Jacobs is an Entertainment Reporter at Business Insider's London bureau. He covers movies and TV shows, with a specific focus on genres like horror, science fiction, action, thrillers, comic book adaptations, and true crime.He's well-versed in franchises like Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Comics, Hellboy, Fallout, Scream, Hellraiser, and the Alien movies.You can get in touch with him via email at ejacobs@bjinnox.comPopular ArticlesA CIA counterterrorism officer's cover was being a comic book author. Now, he's an award-winning writer for DC, working in Hollywood on HBO's 'Lanterns.'Ron Perlman has made peace with the death of 'Hellboy 3'Macaulay Culkin is reportedly heading to the wasteland for 'Fallout.' Here's everything we know about season 2.'Babylon' director Damien Chazelle responds to negative critical reaction: 'We all knew the movie was going to ruffle some feathers'