Singer Billie Eilish has broken her silence about a resurfaced video showing her using a racial slur when she was younger.
On Monday, the Grammy-winning singer posted a statement on her Instagram Story in response to an edited compilation video claiming to show her using a derogatory slur while singing along to Tyler the Creator’s 2011 song “Fish.”
The clip of Eilish quickly made its rounds across social media, which left many eager to know how the now 19-year-old was going to explain herself.
In the statement, Eilish said she loved her fans and wanted to address the video because she was being used to portray her as something she is not.
“There’s a video edit going around of me when I was 13 or 14, where I mouthed a word from a song that at the time I didn’t know was a derogatory term used against members of the Asian community. I am appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that I ever mouthed along to that word.”
She stated that outside of the song, she had never heard the term used by anyone close to her but “regardless of the ignorance and age,” she was not excused for saying the slur and apologizing to those she offended.
The clip also shows Eilish apparently mocking an Asian accent, which she denies. Instead, she claims that she was “speaking in a silly gibberish made up voice” that she began using in childhood. She maintains that the jargon is in “NO way imitation of anyone or any language, accent, or culture in the SLIGHTEST.”
The “Bad Guy” singer insists that she did not intend for her actions to hurt others and says the allegations against her break her heart. Nevertheless, she wants her fans to continue having tough conversations and holding one another accountable by “having conversations, listening, and learning.”
