Billie Eilish's White Tank Top Photo: A Powerful Statement

Billie Eilish, the 17-year-old singer known for her baggy clothing, sparked controversy when a photo of her wearing a white fitted tank top under a baggy sweatshirt went viral. The photo, which differed from her usual attire, led to sexualized comments and tweets about her appearance. Fans quickly came to her defense, and Eilish herself responded with a meme and a video of her laughing on Instagram. She has previously stated that she wears baggy clothes to avoid objectification and unwanted commentary on her body.

Billie Eilish's response to the photo

Billie Eilish has finally responded to being objectified after a photo of her wearing a tank top went viral. The 17-year-old star is known for her very baggy clothing.

Eilish had previously revealed her reasoning for always donning her signature baggy clothes during her Calvin Klein campaign. She said:

> "I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean that’s why I wear big baggy clothes. 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 ass, she’s got a fat ass.' No one can say any of that because they don’t know."

When a photo of Eilish wearing a white fitted tank top under a baggy sweatshirt surfaced, her attire sparked tweets that sexualized her appearance. In response, she posted a meme that talked about pedophilia and how it’s normalized when talking about herself wearing a tank top. She followed the meme with a video of herself laughing out loud.

In a recent interview with Vogue Australia, Eilish further discussed her outfit choices:

> "What I like about just dressing like I’m 800 sizes bigger than I am is it kind of gives nobody the opportunity to judge what your body looks like. I don’t want to give anyone the excuse of judging, and not—and it’s not like everyone’s going to judge you, but they all do in their head, like even if they’re not trying to."

Fans' defence of Eilish

Billie Eilish's fans were quick to jump to her defence after a photo of the singer wearing a white tank top went viral. The 17-year-old is known for her baggy clothing, and fans were outraged at the objectification and sexualisation of a minor. Many pointed out that the singer had previously spoken about wearing baggy clothes to avoid being sexualised and to prevent people from commenting on her body.

One fan wrote, "Billie Eilish dresses how she dresses so that nobody can have an opinion because they haven't seen what's underneath. She doesn't want people to judge her body, she doesn't want to be sexualised." Another said, "Hope Billie never sees this. I don't know what's worse. You sexualizing a minor or sexualizing someone who has gone out of their way to cover themselves."

Eilish herself responded to the photo and the comments with a meme that talked about pedophilia and how it's normalized when discussing her wearing a tank top. She followed it with a video of herself laughing out loud.

In an interview with Vogue Australia, Eilish said, "What I like about just dressing like I'm 800 sizes bigger than I am is it kind of gives nobody the opportunity to judge what your body looks like. I don't want to give anyone the excuse of judging, and not—and it's not like everyone's going to judge you, but they all do in their head, like even if they're not trying to."

Eilish's reasoning for wearing baggy clothes

Billie Eilish has always been known for her baggy clothing, which she has previously revealed is a deliberate choice. In a Calvin Klein ad, the "Bad Guy" singer explained:

> "I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean, that’s why I wear big, baggy clothes. 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 ass, she’s got a fat ass. No one can say any of that because they don’t know."

Eilish further elaborated on her fashion choices in an interview with Vogue Australia, saying:

> "What I like about just dressing like I’m 800 sizes bigger than I am is it kind of gives nobody the opportunity to judge what your body looks like. I don’t want to give anyone the excuse of judging, and not—and it’s not like everyone’s going to judge you, but they all do in their head, like even if they’re not trying to."

She also cited Rihanna as an inspiration for her fashion choices, recalling a speech the Barbadian singer gave in which she said that fashion had always been her defence mechanism. "I felt like I never felt something as strongly hearing someone else say it than I did when I heard her say that because it’s always been that way for me, " Eilish said. "It’s always been my security blanket."

In a later interview with Vanity Fair, Eilish opened up about the body issues that led to her wearing baggy clothes. "I think that the people around me were more worried about [the viral tank top incident] than I was, because the reason I used to cut myself was because of my body," she said. "To be quite honest with you, I only started wearing baggy clothes because of my body."

Objectification and sexualisation of the singer

Billie Eilish, the 17-year-old singer known for her baggy clothing, has been subjected to objectification and sexualisation after a photograph of her wearing a fitted white vest top under a baggy hoodie was circulated on social media. The image sparked an onslaught of tweets commenting on and sexualising the teenager's appearance, with one saying "Billie Eilish is THICK". In response to the objectifying comments, fans of Eilish came to her defence, pointing out her age, with one tweeting, "Billie Eilish is 17 years old, legally an underage. Legally, you can get charged for sexualising a teenager."

Eilish herself responded to the viral photo with a meme about pedophilia and how it's normalised when talking about herself wearing a tank top, followed by a video of herself laughing. In a Calvin Klein ad, the singer had previously explained her choice to wear baggy clothes: "I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean, that's why I wear big baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion because they haven't seen what's underneath." She elaborated, "Nobody can be like, 'Oh, she's 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."

Eilish further discussed her outfit choices in an interview with Vogue Australia, saying, "What I like about just dressing like I'm 800 sizes bigger than I am is it kind of gives nobody the opportunity to judge what your body looks like." She also mentioned being inspired by Rihanna's fashion sense and her use of fashion as a defence mechanism.

The objectification and sexualisation of Billie Eilish highlight ongoing issues of misogyny and the sexualisation of women in society. Eilish's response and her previous statements about her clothing choices serve as a powerful message against objectification and the judgement women face regarding their bodies and appearance.

Eilish's previous experience with public outrage

Billie Eilish has had several run-ins with public outrage, sparking debates about her role in perpetuating harmful stereotypes. One of the most notable instances was the white tank top photo that went viral. The 17-year-old singer is known for her signature baggy clothing style, which she has explained is a deliberate choice to avoid objectification and public scrutiny of her body. However, when a photo of her wearing a fitted white tank top under a baggy sweatshirt surfaced, it sparked a wave of sexualized comments and tweets about her appearance. While her fans quickly came to her defense, the incident once again highlighted the double standards and judgment that women, especially in the public eye, often face regarding their bodies and clothing choices.

In another instance, Eilish faced backlash for mouthing a racist slur in a video that resurfaced on TikTok. The video, which was from when she was 13 or 14 years old, showed her lip-syncing to a song containing a derogatory term against the Asian community. Eilish issued an apology, expressing her embarrassment and regret for her actions. She stated that she was unaware of the meaning of the word at the time but acknowledged that it was hurtful and insensitive. This incident sparked important conversations about racial slurs and the responsibility of public figures in addressing past mistakes.

Eilish has also faced criticism and accusations of queerbaiting due to her lyrics and public discussions of her sexuality. After coming out as queer, she faced a backlash for her song 'Guess,' a collaboration with Charli XCX, in which she sang about desiring a woman. Some people accused her of profiting from queer culture and predatory behavior, sparking debates about the representation of queer women in pop music and their right to express their sexuality.

Additionally, Eilish has been the target of "manufactured outrage" campaigns, where her social media accounts were flooded with anti-Semitic bots and trolls. This occurred after she promoted her second studio album, 'Happier Than Ever,' on MTV Israel. A report by a pro-Israel organization revealed that thousands of bot-driven comments with Palestinian flags and solidarity messages were posted on her Instagram account, aiming to silence her and distort public opinion against Israel. This incident highlighted the coordinated efforts by state actors to influence social media algorithms and public sentiment.

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