Billie Eilish has hit back at bodyshamers with a new short film that she shared on social media.
The 18-year-old singer has released ‘NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY’, which was first played at her ‘Where Do We Go?’ world tour in March, on YouTube and she is using it to send the message that other people’s opinions about her body are irrelevant.
Speaking as she slowly removes her clothes in the film, she says: “Do you know me – really, know me? You have opinions about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body. Some people hate what I wear; some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others; some people use it to shame me. But I feel you watching, always.
“Nothing I do goes unseen, so while I feel your stares, your disapproval… or your sighs of relief. If I lived by them, I’d never be able to move.”
Continuing to point out some of the criticism she has faced, Billie adds: “Would you like me to be smaller? Weaker? Softer? Taller? Would you like me to be quiet? Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest? Am I my stomach, my hips, the body I was born with? Is it not what you wanted… if I wear what is comfortable… I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I’m a slut… thought you’ve never seen my body, you still touch it and judge me for it. Why?
“We decide who they are. We decide what they’re worth. If I wear more, if I wear less, who decides what that makes me? What that means? Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?”
Billie previously admitted she hasn’t always felt comfortable in her own skin but she has developed more body confidence over the past few years.
She explained: “There was a point last year where I was naked and I didn’t recognise my body ‘cos I hadn’t seen it in a while. I would see it sometimes and be like, ‘Whose body is that?’
“It’s not that I like (my body) now, I just think I’m a bit more OK with it.”