Billie Eilish Apologizes For Ethnic Slur In Resurfaced Video

Last week, a confusing video of Billie Eilish surfaced on TikTok. In the exceedingly brief clip, as TMZ reports, Eilish lip-syncs along with the 2011 Tyler, The Creator song “Fish,” including an anti-Asian slur. The edited clip also shows Eilish speaking spirited gibberish, and the video claims that she’s “mocking Asians” with that voice.

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In a statement posted on her Instagram story, Eilish has apologized for the slur. She claims that the video shows her when she was “13 or 14” and that she “didn’t know it was a derogatory term used against members of the asian community.” She also says that she’s “appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that i ever mouthed along to that word.”

As for the “mocking Asians” claim, Eilish says that the video shows her “speaking in a silly gibberish made up voice… something that i started doing as a kid and have done my whole life when talking to pets, friends, and family. it is absolute gibberish and just me goofing around, and it is in NO way an imitation of anyone or any language, accent, or culture in the SLIGHTEST.”

Here’s the full text of Eilish’s apology:

i love you guys, and many of you have been asking me to address this. and this is something that i WANT to address because i’m being labeled something that i am 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. this song was the only time i’d ever heard that word as it was never used around me by anyone in my family. regardless of my ignorance and age at the time, nothing excuses the fact is that it was hurtful. and for that i am sorry.

the other video in that edited clip is me speaking in a silly gibberish made up voice… something I started doing as a kid and have done my whole life when talking to my pets, friends, and family. it is absolute gibberish and just me goofing around, and is in NO way an imitation of anyone or any language, accent or culture in the SLIGHTEST. anyone who knows me has seen me goofing around with voices my whole life.

regardless of how it was interpreted i did not mean for any of my actions to have caused hurt to others and it absolutely breaks my heart that it is being labeled now in a way that might cause pain to people hearing it. i not only believe in, but have always worked hard to use my platform to fight for inclusion, kindness, tolerance, equity and equality.

we all need to continue having conversations, listening and learning. I hear you and I love you. thank you for taking the time to read this.