Billie Eilish has issued an apology after she sparked controversy with a resurfaced video that showed her mouthing an anti-Asian remark and mocking the Asian accent.
The Lost Cause hitmaker featured in an edited compilation of several videos that was posted on TikTok last week, in which the singer can be seen mouthing the words to Tyler, the Creator's song, Fish, which includes the word "chink" – a racial slur used against people of Asian descent. In the video, Eilish is also seen appearing to mimick the Asian accent.
The video sparked outrage on social media with netizens calling her "racist." Eilish's Chinese fans also called for boycott of the 19-year-old singer on the Twitter-like micro-blogging platform Weibo, as reported by China's Global Times. Watch the video below:
'I'm Appalled and Embarrassed and Want to Barf'
In the wake of the backlash, many of Eilish's fans asked her to address the clip so she took to Instagram on Monday to do exactly that. "Many of you have been asking me to address this," Eilish wrote to her fans via an Instagram Story, "and this is something that I WANT to address because I'm being labeled something that I am not."
The Grammy winner, explained that she was "13 or 14" when she made the video in question. "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," she admitted. "I am appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that I ever mouthed along to that word."
"Regardless of my ignorance and age at the time, nothing excuses the fact is that it was hurtful," she wrote. "and for that I am sorry."
Eilish also addressed the part in which she appears to mock the Asian accent, saying that she was actually doing something quite different.
"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," she wrote. "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 labelled 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," she added. "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."
