Billie Eilish has responded to fans who think her recent British Vogue photoshoot showed she had grown as a person, saying: “That’s not OK.”
The pop superstar, 19, won widespread praise in May after swapping her usually baggy style for a tight-fitting corset and lingerie in photos inspired by mid-20th century pin-ups.
A photo from the shoot posted on the American singer’s Instagram account became the fastest to hit one million likes at the time, reaching the milestone in six minutes.
During a cover interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish dismissed the idea her change in style represented personal “growth”.
She said: “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’. 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’.”
Eilish also described the challenges of being a public figure and facing criticism for doing things considered “problematic” by some of her fans.
The singer has been the victim of body-shaming online and last year spoke about the issue in a short film called Not My Responsibility.
She said: “I wish that I could tell the fans everything I think and feel and it wouldn’t live on the internet forever.
“And be spoken about and called problematic, or called whatever the f*** anybody wants to call any thoughts that a human has.
“The other sad thing is that they don’t actually know me. And I don’t really know them, but obviously we’re connected.
“The problem is you feel like you know somebody, but you don’t. And then it’s like, yeah. It’s just a lot.”
Happier Than Ever, Eilish’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2019 debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, is to be released on July 30.
As well as Lost Cause, it includes the singles My Future, Therefore I Am and Your Power.