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9 December 2019, 17:13
Billie Eilish also appeared to call out Jimmy Kimmel over the backlash she received for not knowing who Van Halen are.
Billie Eilish recently came under fire for comments surrounding Lady Gaga and Van Halen and now she's addressed them.
Last week (Dec 6), Billie Eilish Is Over Party began trending on Twitter after Lady Gaga fans took issue with some comments Billie made about Gaga's infamous meat dress. In an interview with Variety magazine, Billie said "yiiiiiiiikes" in response to a question about the dress. People then accused Billie of being "disrespectful" and started calling for her to be cancelled.
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If that weren't bizarre enough, people were also upset that Billie admitted to not knowing who Van Halen are.
People defended Billie in both circumstances. First things first, Billie is vegan and not liking a dress is not a reason to cancel anyone. Seriously. Secondly, she's 17-years-old and it's okay that she isn't aware some bands exist. Sorry to this band but people can survive without knowing Van Halen. Now, Billie has responded to the backlash in the best way possible.
On Saturday (Dec 7), Billie was crowned Variety's Hitmaker of the Year and she clarified her recent Lady Gaga and Van Halen comments on the red carpet. A reporter asked Billie about the reaction to what she said and how she copes with it. He said: "How do you deal with Van Halen and the meat dress, people coming after you? How do you let that fall by the wayside?"
Never one to let bullshit slide, Billie responded: "I didn't even know about it. I don't even care. Why would I care? People try to frame me for being shady and I'm not even so I don't care." She then went on to explain: "I'm just being honest. I'm not gonna lie, you know what I'm saying." Well hello. Let's celebrate that and focus on things that are actually problematic.
Billie talks to Variety about how she deals with people coming after her for not knowing Van Halen and commenting on Lady Gaga’s meat dress pic.twitter.com/rqZcVR8rt5
— billie eilish updates (@eilishupdates) December 8, 2019
Billie later appeared to address the Van Halen backlash in her speech. She said: "Thank you so much Variety. Thank you for not making me look stupid like everyone else wants to do... on TV. I love that." Billie initially said that she did not know who Van Halen are during a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live in which he tried to poke fun at things she didn't know about.
Billie also gave a heartfelt thanks to her brother Finneas. She said: "Finneas is my best friend. He produces everything. He's the only reason I'm anywhere in the whole world. He's probably the only reason I'm alive." Finneas then responded: "I love Billie more than anything else. I'm so grateful to you and I love you."
Billie Eilish Thanks Finneas in Heartfelt Speech - Variety Hitmakers
Billie ended the speech saying: "I know there's a lot of teams in here, managers and labels. Please listen to your artists. Just listen to people and be open-minded and trust and don't think that just because it's not like anything else it's bad."