After a video showing the American singer mouthing an anti-Asian racial slur resurfaced online last week, Billie Eilish delivered an apology. On her Instagram Story on Monday, the singer addressed an edited video compilation that showed her uttering a derogatory word used in Tyler the Creator's 2011 song "Fish."
Many of Eilish's followers demanded a reaction from her after the video went viral on social media, which Billie Eilish claimed she was eager to do in her statement.
Billie Eilish says she is embarrassed by the resurfaced video
The "Ocean Eyes" singer, now 19, said she was about 13 or 14 when she mouthed a slur from a song that she didn't realize was inappropriate at that time. The resurfaced TikTok video shows Eilish singing along to Tyler while mouthing the anti-Asian slur, per ET Online.
On her Instagram story Monday, Billie Eilish said that she didn't know she mouthed a word that is derogatory towards members of the Asian community. The singer expressed her apology and said she was embarrassed.
Eilish said that the tape showing her imitating different accents, which some fans misinterpreted, was "silly gibberish" that was not meant to represent anyone or any language, accent, or culture for that matter, The Independent reported. She went on to share that she wanted to use her platform to campaign for inclusion, compassion, tolerance, equity, and equality, encouraging her fans to converse, listen, and learn.
The Los Angeles native also addressed another clip where she appeared to imitate an Asian accent with her brother Finneas subsequently calling her out for seemingly copying speech patterns of African Americans.
Eilish said that people's reactions and responses broke her heart since she did not intend any misunderstanding to cause anyone harm. While the clip startled many of Billie's followers, with some demanding that she must be canceled out, others blamed the video on her Tourette syndrome, which causes involuntary tics. Billie admitted to having the condition in 2018 but stated she only had physical tics and not vocal ones.
Eilish recently mocked after uploading "Lost Cause" photos
The issue came only days after Billie was involved in another scandal. After sharing a slew of behind-the-scenes photos from her Lost Cause video, Billie was accused of queerbaiting by confused fans last week. Per Daily Mail, the singer frolics with her female friends at a party and puts on an energetic display by sticking her tongue out while they all pose close together in the photos.
Billie, however, came under criticism after uploading the edgy photos with the caption "I love girls," with some of her 86.9 million followers questioning her actions. Some music fans speculated that Billie may be on her way out in the post, while others applauded her video, describing her as confident and stunning as ever.
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