Fans Defend Billie Eilish Over Comments About Pale-Skinned Concertgoers

Newsweek

05-08-2025

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Fans are rallying behind Billie Eilish after the singer received backlash for comments she made on stage in Dublin during her Hit Me Hard and Soft world tour.
Performing at the 3Arena on July 26, Eilish spoke warmly about feeling at home among Irish fans—remarks that some later interpreted as problematic.
"As you guys know, I'm Irish. I am not from here, obviously. It's really cool to come somewhere and, like, everyone looks exactly like you, and you're all just as pasty as me. I love it," Eilish told the crowd. "It makes me feel so seen; also, like, 1,000 of my relatives are in the crowd right now, I'm pretty sure."
Newsweek reached out to Billie Eilish's publicists for comment via email.
The "Ocean Eyes" singer, whose full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell, was referencing her Irish heritage, but her use of "everyone looks exactly like you" drew criticism online. "White? Does she mean white?" posted Lena Monte on X.
File photo: Billie Eilish poses during the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 17, 2025 in Hollywood, California.
File photo: Billie Eilish poses during the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 17, 2025 in Hollywood, California.
Jeff Kravitz / Contributor/FilmMagic, Inc
"If you don't understand why it's weird for a white woman from America to say that she likes to go to Ireland where there are more white people that look just like her, because she needs to be around more people that look like her when she already lives in America, you are the one who is not OK," said Threads user omi_oh_my27.
However, many jumped to her defense. One Threads user, @blancobruja, wrote: "Y'all mad at Billie Eilish & calling her racist because she said she likes being in IRELAND with IRISH folks that look like her? That baby's name is literally BILLIE EILISH PIRATE BAIRD O'CONNELL. Are y'all ok? Like is you cool???" Her post garnered over 147,000 views.
TikTok user Dex added: "Let's not twist Billie's words. She wasn't being racist or promoting ethnonationalism. She was expressing a personal moment feeling a connection in a crowd that shares part of her cultural or physical background."
Even actress and activist Jameela Jamil weighed in on TikTok, questioning the outrage. She said that Eilish, known for her progressive stance from a young age, was clearly not "doing like eugenics dog whistle on stage in Ireland."
Jamil added that people were reacting out of helplessness over larger global issues and misdirecting their frustration.
Jamil said that Eilish "was just excited to see that other people share her very Irish-looking face." The actress added that the singer doesn't make such comments in other majority-white nations—highlighting the specificity of her connection to Ireland.
Cultural experts agree that context is crucial. "While not the best comment to make, as we have to be mindful of how things are said in this current environment, having Irish ancestry and being in Ireland saying people look like you—at the core—is not harmful," LaToya Evans, principal and chief communications officer at LEPR Agency, told Newsweek.
"Could she have expressed it differently and seen less controversy? Yes," Evans added.
TV and pop culture expert Jazmine Henley-Brown echoed this, saying that the comment was likely an "off-the-cuff, affectionate nod" to Eilish's roots.
"What feels warm and relatable in the room can read cold and exclusive online," she said.
"Billie wasn't excluding anyone; she was simply expressing comfort and familiarity. There's a big difference between 'I feel seen here' and 'this space is only for people like me.'"
Journalist Marie Nicola offered a more-nuanced perspective, reminding audiences that celebrity comments no longer exist in a vacuum.
"Eilish is never performing or speaking to one audience in one arena—she's performing and speaking to all audiences in every area at the same time," Nicola told Newsweek.
This phenomenon, which Nicola calls "interpretive pluralism," means that, while a live crowd may receive a comment warmly, fans on TikTok or X might interpret it through different cultural, political, and racial lenses.
Nicola added that part of the backlash stems from the nature of Eilish's fame: her appeal as a "relatable outsider" has created emotional closeness with diverse fans.
The moment racial identity entered the chat and "being seen" was linked to whiteness, that closeness started to fracture and that emotional currency starts to lose value," Nicola said.
While Eilish may have intended to celebrate her Irish heritage, the framing of "visibility" through racial sameness unintentionally excluded fans who don't share her background.
There is also a larger conversation at play about how whiteness has long been framed as "neutral" in pop culture.
Nicola said that this dates back to early Hollywood, where white stars were constructed as universally legible and morally centered, while nonwhite characters were exoticized or erased.
"When whiteness is the norm, everything else becomes 'representation.' That's the imbalance, and that's the harm," Nicola said.
She added that Eilish's comment is less about intent and more about timing.
In a post-2020 era, where Gen Zers and younger millennials are culturally and politically attuned, even well-meaning remarks are scrutinized under the lens of systemic power.
"Whiteness is no longer read as neutral," Nicola said. "In this climate, any centering of whiteness—no matter how benign, offhand or seemingly harmless—does not land as neutral, because it functionally cannot.
Ultimately, many agree that Eilish's words weren't malicious. But as Nicola added, "Fandoms today are multiethnic, politically alert, deeply online—and it's nearly impossible for white neutrality to slip by without being examined."