The seven-time Grammy award winner Billie Eilish took over to Instagram to apologize for her past videos which resurfaced earlier this month and have been widely circulated.
The superstar can be seen mouthing an anti-Asian racist slur in a video whereas she is seen imitating a certain accent in another short clip that went viral a few days ago.
The 19 years old singer, songwriter wrote “I am appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that I ever mouthed along to that word”; stating that she was hardly 13 or 14 years old the time these videos were recorded.
Billie Eilish further stated that regardless of her age and ignorance of such a sensitive issue at that time, no excuses are enough to settle down the hurt she has caused and for that, she is extremely sorry.
She also stated that she was not imitating an accent, she calls it the silly gibberish made-up voice which she makes while talking to pets, friends, and loved ones. She was goofing around in that clip and had no intention of imitating any particular person., race, language, or accent.
The singer added, “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.”
Billie Eilish concluded her long post by saying that she has always worked hard in projecting and promoting kindness, equity, tolerance, and equality through her platform. She will continue doing so and these videos do not define her ideology or herself the least.
The clip or compilation of her old videos was shared on the TikTok platform by a user named Lena. The video included Eilish mouthing along to a song Fish by Tyler, the creator – the song included derogatory terms in the lyrics for the Asian community. In the same video, Eilish was spotted speaking in an imitating accent which many viewers took as a derogatory mock accent for Asians and she was heavily criticized for these actions.
As soon as the post went viral, Eilish was under the knife especially from her fans who demanded an immediate response to clear the air.
After the apology surfaced, the TikTok user Lena posted Eilish’s apology with the caption “she finally addressed this !!!”
The pandemic has fuelled a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across America and the anti- Asian sentiments are being heightened which has put the celebrities and influencers under intense scrutiny. They are looked upon to use their platforms for social good and end these discriminatory crimes.
President Joe Biden also signed a bill recently to address this sudden rise in the assault cases towards the Asian community.
