Billie Eilish has become a driving force in the body positivity movement — and she isn’t about to change her views any time soon.
Known for often sporting oversized clothing onstage, Eilish previously opened up about choosing to keep her body out of the public eye. “Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath,” she explained in an interview for a May 2019 Calvin Klein ad. “Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slim-thick,’ ‘she’s got a flat ass,’ ‘she’s got a fat ass.’ No one can say any of that because they don’t know.”
Eilish shared similar comments in her November 2023 cover story for Variety’s The Power of Women issue. “I wasn’t trying to have people not sexualize me,” she explained of the early days of her career. “But I didn’t want people to have access to my body, even visually. I wasn’t strong enough and secure enough to show it. If I had shown it at that time, I would have been completely devastated if people had said anything.”
Scroll down to revisit more of Eilish’s most empowering quotes about self-image:
‘I Like to Be in Control’
Her stance about her body and her artistry has been clear since the very beginning of her career. In July 2017, she told Billboard why she doesn’t often smile in photos: “I like to be in control of how I look and how I feel and how I act and the obligation is to smile back at someone if they smile at you … I don’t think of myself as anything except me.”
Dressing for Comfort
Eilish delved deeper into the “toxic” relationship she’s had with her body during a vulnerable CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King and admitted that she’s found comfort in wearing oversized garments. “It’s less about, ‘My body is ugly, I don’t want you to see it.’ It’s more about, ‘I’m not comfortable wearing this. I’m comfortable wearing [baggier clothes].'”
‘People Are Afraid of Successful Women’
“In the public eye, girls and women with strong perspectives are hated. If you’re a girl with an opinion, people just hate you,” Eilish told the Los Angeles Times in March 2018, making it clear that she would never be anyone but utterly herself. “There are still people who are afraid of successful women, and that’s so lame. What’s the point of pleasing other people? You’ve got to get out and change the world, and we’re the generation that’s going to step into that.”
Speaking Her Truth
The groundbreaking artist revealed why she tends to dress in baggy clothing during a behind-the-scenes moment on a Calvin Klein campaign in May 2019. “Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slim-thick,’ ‘she’s got a flat ass,’ ‘she’s got a fat ass.’ No one can say any of that because they don’t know,” Eilish explained.
Correcting Misconceptions
In a conversation with Pharrell Williams for V magazine in August 2019, Eilish addressed the way her fashion choices are talked about in the media. “I wear what I want to wear. But of course, everyone sees it as, ‘She’s saying no to being sexualized,’ and, ‘She’s saying no to being the stereotypical female,'” Eilish said. “I have always supported and f—ked with and just loved when a woman or a man or anyone in the world feels comfortable in their skin, their body, to show just whatever they want. I don’t like that there’s this weird new world of supporting me by shaming people that [may not] want to [dress like me].”
‘I Can’t Win’
The “Ocean Eyes” singer took a strong stand against body shaming trolls after sharing a bikini picture earlier this year. “I saw comments like, ‘How dare she talk about not wanting to be sexualized and wear this?!'” she told Dazed magazine. “It was trending. There were comments like, ‘I don’t like her anymore because as soon as she turns 18 she’s a whore.’ Like, dude. I can’t win … If there’s a day when I’m like, ‘You know what, I feel comfortable with my belly right now and I wanna show my belly,’ I should be allowed to do that.”
She continued: “If I wore a dress to something, I would be hated for it. People would be like, ‘You’ve changed, how dare you do what you’ve always rebelled against?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not rebelling against anything, really.’ I can’t stress it enough. I’m just wearing what I wanna wear. If there’s a day when I’m like, ‘You know what, I feel comfortable with my belly right now, and I wanna show my belly,’ I should be allowed to do that.”
Being Patient
Eilish admitted to Vogue in March 2020 that she “would have done anything to be in a different [body]” when she was growing up. As she grew up, however, she allowed herself to take up space. “When people ask me what I’d say to somebody looking for advice on mental health, the only thing I can say is patience,” she explained. “I had patience with myself. I didn’t take that last step. I waited. Things fade.”
‘Not My Responsibility’
The hitmaker released a short film titled Not My Responsibility in May 2020 to clap back at body shamers and critics. During the three-minute spoken word video, she said, “If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I’m a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why? We make assumptions about people based on their size. We decide who they are, we decide what they’re worth.”
‘If I Shed the Layers, I’m a Slut’
Before postponing her 2020 Where Do We Go tour, Eilish addressed the public’s fascination with her body in a powerful visual. “Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it,” she said in the video. “Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me. But I feel you watching, always. And nothing I do goes unseen … The body I was born with, is it not what you wanted? If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut.”
‘My Body Is Mine’
The singer opened up about her body image in the British GQ July/August 2020 cover story. “My body is mine and yours is yours. Our own bodies are kind of the only real things which are truly ours. I get to see it and get to show it when I want to,” she told the publication. “Sometimes I dress like a boy. Sometimes I dress like a swaggy girl. And sometimes I feel trapped by this persona that I have created, because sometimes I think people view me not as a woman. So I dress the way I dress as I don’t like to think of you guys – I mean anyone, everyone – judging it, or the size of it. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t wake up one day and decide to wear a tank top, which I have done before.”
A Role Model
While discussing the positive impact that her quotes about body image have had on her fans, the “Therefore I Am” singer told Vanity Fair in November 2020, “I love having kids relate to me and tell me that I make them feel comfortable in their bodies. If I can do anything, I want to do that.”
‘I’m Not This Now’
Eilish switched up her typical style for her June 2021 British Vogue cover, on which she sported sexy pink lingerie. While the cover was met with positive reactions, the singer told Rolling Stone that same month that she wasn’t necessarily happy with some people’s comments.
“I saw a picture of me on the cover of Vogue [from] a couple of years ago with big, huge oversize clothes [next to] the picture of [the latest Vogue]. Then the caption was like, ‘That’s called growth,’” she explained. “I understand where they’re coming from, but at the same time, I’m like, ‘No, that’s not OK. I’m not this now, and I didn’t need to grow from that.’”
Trying New Styles
Eilish explained to Highsnobiety that she dyed her hair blonde and experimented with new looks in 2021 to prove she can do “whatever I want” with her look. “Now I can look really masculine if I want, and really feminine if I want, and it’s not gonna be a f—king headline,” she told the outlet in December 2022. “It’s not that you wear one thing, and that’s your new style — you f—king keep wearing a bunch of s—t.”
Learning to Love Herself
“I felt like my body was gaslighting me for years,” Eilish told Vogue in January 2023. “I had to go through a process of being like, ‘My body is actually me. And it’s not out to get me.’”
Embracing Her Features
“I have big boobs. I’ve had big boobs since I was nine years old, and that’s just the way I am. That’s how I look,” Eilish told Variety in November 2023. “You wear something that’s at all revealing, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, but you didn’t want people to sexualize you?’ … I’m literally a being that is sexual sometimes. F—k you!”
Calling Out Double Standards
“Nobody ever says a thing about men’s bodies,” she ranted in her November 2023 Variety interview. “If you’re muscular, cool. If you’re not, cool. If you’re rail thin, cool. If you have a dad bod, cool. If you’re pudgy, love it! Everybody’s happy with it. You know why? Because girls are nice. They don’t give a f—k because we see people for who they are!”
