Billie Eilish has warned fans of the dangers of extreme dieting.
READ MORE: Billie Eilish – ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ review: bold, brilliant and somewhat brighter
Speaking on NPR’s Fresh Air podcast, the singer reflected on her previous body image issues and explained that she was at her least happy when trying to control her weight.
“A couple of years back… I had been on this really intense kind of health journey and lost a lot of weight,” she explained. “I was thinner than I’d ever been, and stronger than ever. But separately, I was extremely unhappy and unaware of how unhappy I was. It’s not a fun way to live.”
Eilish has previously spoken about her body image, beginning in 2019 when she shared that a hip injury she suffered resulted in her suffering a bout of depression as a young teen.
“It sent me down a hole,” she remembered at the time. “I went through a whole self-harming phase – we don’t have to go into it. But the gist of it was, I felt like I deserved to be in pain.”
Billie Eilish. CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation Entertainment
In 2023 she further reflected on how she felt her body had been “gaslighting her” following the injury.
“Going through my teenage years of hating myself and all that stupid shit,” the ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ singer told the publication, “a lot of it came from my anger toward my body, and how mad I was at how much pain it’s caused me, and how much I’ve lost because of things that happened to it.”
Eilish continued: “I felt like my body was gaslighting me for years. I had to go through a process of being like, my body is actually me. And it’s not out to get me.”
In 2021, Eilish hit back at an article that accused her of “selling out” during a Vogue cover shoot in which she debuted a new look. The singer had previously only worn baggy clothes, a decision she explained in a 2019 ad campaign for Calvin Klein.
“Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath,” she said. “Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slim-thick,’ ‘she’s got a flat ass,’ ‘she’s got a fat ass.’ No one can say any of that because they don’t know.”
The same year, she opened up again about self-image in an interview with the Guardian, saying: “Since I was a kid, my dad and I have always talked about a certain type of person who’s so insecure, or hyperaware and self-conscious, that they never move in a weird way, or make a weird face, because they always want to look good.”
“I’ve noticed that, and it makes me so sad. If you’re always standing a certain way, walking in a certain way, and always have your hair just so… It’s such a loss to always try to always look good. It’s such a loss of joy and freedom in your body.”
In other news, Eilish just wrapped up the US leg of her ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ tour with five shows at Inglewood’s Kia Forum.
During one of the hometown gigs, she also brought out Charli XCX as a special guest to perform their ‘Guess’ remix. The track is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys 2025. The two artists are also competing for Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and more.
Eilish also recently played snippets of two new songs during a recent interview and revealed that she has been “making music” again.
Her song ‘Birds Of A Feather’ was recently named as the 12th best song of 2024 by NME. Her album ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’, was also named in NME’s list of the Best Albums Of 2024, coming in at Number Nine.
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