Billie Eilish makes powerful statement against body shamers live on stage

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By VT

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If there's one thing Billie Eilish is known for - aside from her immense talent and success - it's her individualistic stance on body image. And more specifically, how she has managed to eschew public scrutiny of her figure.

The 18-year-old has largely achieved that by going against the convention of wearing very revealing clothing on and off the stage.

In fact, in a candid commercial for Calvin Klein last May, she revealed that she wears "big, baggy clothes" because she never wants "the world to know everything about me".

"Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘Oh, she’s slim-thick, she’s not slim-thick, she’s got a flat a**, she’s got a fat a**. No one can say any of that because they don’t know."

It's Billie's unique perspective and 'way around' body shaming that makes the video below such a significant moment in her career.

This is the moment Billie Eilish strips off to her bra as part of her symbolic statement on body image:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/R3hgPKLG-sKUnNGKf.mp4||R3hgPKLG]]

During an interlude at a concert in Miami, Billie played a video that was projected onto the venue's big screens. In the video, she gradually removes layer after layer of clothing until she is left wearing a bra, all while a powerful statement spoken by the Grammy award-winning artist plays in the background.

Here is the teen's entire statement below, per the BBC:

"Do you 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. And 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. 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?

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/B5y93JzlqRw/]]

Eilish continued:

"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.

"Though you've never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why? You make assumptions about people based on their size. 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 Eilish makes powerful statement against body shamers live on stage

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

If there's one thing Billie Eilish is known for - aside from her immense talent and success - it's her individualistic stance on body image. And more specifically, how she has managed to eschew public scrutiny of her figure.

The 18-year-old has largely achieved that by going against the convention of wearing very revealing clothing on and off the stage.

In fact, in a candid commercial for Calvin Klein last May, she revealed that she wears "big, baggy clothes" because she never wants "the world to know everything about me".

"Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘Oh, she’s slim-thick, she’s not slim-thick, she’s got a flat a**, she’s got a fat a**. No one can say any of that because they don’t know."

It's Billie's unique perspective and 'way around' body shaming that makes the video below such a significant moment in her career.

This is the moment Billie Eilish strips off to her bra as part of her symbolic statement on body image:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/R3hgPKLG-sKUnNGKf.mp4||R3hgPKLG]]

During an interlude at a concert in Miami, Billie played a video that was projected onto the venue's big screens. In the video, she gradually removes layer after layer of clothing until she is left wearing a bra, all while a powerful statement spoken by the Grammy award-winning artist plays in the background.

Here is the teen's entire statement below, per the BBC:

"Do you 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. And 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. 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?

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/B5y93JzlqRw/]]

Eilish continued:

"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.

"Though you've never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why? You make assumptions about people based on their size. 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?"