American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, who won "Song of the Year" for "Bad Guy" at the 2020 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on 26 January, kicked off her Where Do We Go? world tour in Miami with a bold message addressing body image.
The 18-year old singer, who typically opts for baggy garments to stop people from sexualizing her body, delivered her message in a video that was aired before she sang her song “All the Good Girls Go to Hell.”
As she spoke in a voiceover about body image criticism, Eilish slowly shed layers of clothing, stripping down to her bra top to enthusiastic cheers in the crowd.
“Do you really know me? You have opinions about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body?... And nothing I do goes unseen,” she is heard saying in the interlude.
Eilish, named Billboard's 2019 Woman of the Year, 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.”
The interlude concludes with Eilish slamming society for making “assumptions about people based on their size”, asking:
“Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?”
The singer’s message ignited a wave of support across social media, with many fans posting comments that called her “the strongest, most empowering woman”.
However, some netizens took issue with the “provocative imagery” the singer resorted to in her statement.
Billie Eilish has frequently mentioned that her loosely-fitting outfits are a means of shielding herself from being objectified and along with other performers has spoken out against “rampant sexism and body shaming”.