Netizens Slam Billie Eilish For Blaming Variety For Coming Out As Queer: 'No One Outed You'

Billie Eilish found herself at the center of a social media storm after accusing Variety magazine of "outing" her during its annual Hitmakers event over the weekend.

The "Bad Guy" singer took to Instagram Monday to share her thoughts, along with a series of photos and clips of herself, including some from Saturday's event.

Eilish thanked Variety for her award but also expressed frustration about discussions surrounding her sexuality.

"Thanks Variety for my award and also outing me on a red carpet at 11 am instead of talking to me about anything else that matters," she wrote in the caption. "I like boys and girls, leave me alone about it please, literally, who cares[?]"

The remarks came after Eilish and her brother Finneas received the award for Film Song of the Year for "What Was I Made For?" from the "Barbie" soundtrack on Saturday.

During an interview on the red carpet at the Hitmakers event, Eilish was asked if she had intended to come out in a recent Variety cover interview, where she had hinted at her attraction to women.

Eilish told the reporter, "No, I didn't, but I kinda thought, 'Wasn't it obvious?'"

Social media users swiftly reacted to Eilish's Instagram post, with opinions sharply divided. Some criticized her for claiming she was "outed," arguing that she openly discussed her sexuality in the media.

"No one outed you," one Instagram user commented on her post. Another comment claimed, "I don't think you know what outing means."

"It's not really fair to say 'outed on a red carpet.' You had a conversation with a gay interviewer about the cover story where you came out. She was doing her job. Representation is still important, girly was clearly buzzing that one of the biggest stars in the world is part of her community. It doesn't matter to you, but it does to queer kids across the world who are realizing who they are," a third person commented.

However, Eilish also had supporters who praised her for the candid post, with one person noting that she was "so real for that caption" and another defending her against what they considered intrusive questioning.

"They were so out of pocket for asking that," the Instagram user wrote. "People are too obsessed about that kind of stuff."

"Ate them up with that caption," another commented.

While speaking with Variety for last month's The Power of Women issue, Eilish touched on her relationships with women.

The singer stated, "I've never really felt like I could relate to girls very well. I love them so much. I love them as people. I'm attracted to them as people. I'm attracted to them for real."

When asked about her sexuality on Saturday, Eilish said, "I didn't realize people didn't know."

"I saw the article and was like, 'Oh, I guess I came out today'. But it's exciting to me... it's cool that they know," she added.

But she also questioned why it was necessary to make a formal announcement, noting that she didn't really believe in the concept of "coming out."

She stated, "Why can't we just exist? I've been doing this for a long time, and I just didn't talk about it."

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