Billie Eilish Explains Why She Covers Her Chest — and Why She Might Not Once She Turns 18 (2024)

Billie Eilish is opening up about her signature baggy style — and how it might change when she turns 18 in three months.

In her cover story for ELLE's Women in Music-themed October issue, which also features Camila Cabello and Lizzo on separate covers, the "Bad Guy" singer said that people who theorize that she wears over-sized shorts and T-shirts as a way to desexualize herself are "missing the point."

"The point is not: Hey, let's go slu*t-shame all these girls for not dressing like Billie Eilish," Eilish told the publication. "It makes me mad. I have to wear a big shirt for you not to feel uncomfortable about my boobs!"

After a show in Nashville in June, Eilish was photographed climbing off her tour bus in a tank top to greet fans outside. Due to the fact Eilish was simply wearing a shirt that was more form-fitting than her usual attire, the photo quickly made its rounds on social media.

"My boobs were trending on Twitter!" Eilish said. "At number one! What is that?! Every outlet wrote about my boobs!"

"I look good in it," she added, laughing. "I was born with f------ boobs, bro. I was born with DNA that was gonna give me big-ass boobs."

Eilish said her breasts have been an issue for as long as she can remember, which is why she chooses to cover them.

"I was recently FaceTiming a close friend of mine who's a dude, and I was wearing a tank top," she said. "He was like, 'Ugh, put a shirt on!' And I said, 'I have a shirt on.' Someone with smaller boobs could wear a tank top, and I could put on that exact tank top and get slu*t-shamed because my boobs are big. That is stupid. It's the same shirt!"

When Eilish turns 18 on Dec. 18, fans might start to see a style evolution for the singer.

"I'm gonna be a woman," Eilish said. "I wanna show my body."

"What if I wanna make a video where I wanna look desirable?" she asked, but then quickly clarified, "Not a p*rno!"

"But I know it would be a huge thing," she continued. "I know people will say, 'I've lost all respect for her.'"

Eilish recalled a comment that someone had left beneath one of her videos that stuck with her which said, "Tomboys always end up being the biggest whor*s." In the video in question, ELLE reported that Eilish was wearing big shorts and a big T-shirt, but her crime was in "slightly grazing her boobs with the back of her hand by accident."

"I can't win!" Eilish said.

Despite the scrutiny, Eilish said during her ELLE interview that she has never been in a better place in life.

"I'm finally not miserable," she said. "Two years ago, I felt like nothing mattered; every single thing was pointless. Not just in my life, but everything in the whole world. I was fully clinically depressed. It's insane to look back and not be anymore."

In reference to the critics who have accused her of faking depression in the past, Eilish said, "It hurt me to see that."

"I was a 16-year-old girl who was really unstable," she said. "I'm in the happiest place of my life, and I didn't think that I would even make it to this age."

"I haven't been happy for years," she continued. "I didn't think I would be happy again. And here I am — I've gotten to a point where I'm finally okay. It's not because I'm famous. It's not because I have a little more money. It's so many different things: growing up, people coming into your life, certain people leaving your life. All I can say now is, For anybody who isn't doing well, it will get better. Have hope. I did this s— with fame riding on my shoulders. And I love fame! Being famous is great, but it was horrible for a year. Now I love what I do, and I'm me again. The good me. And I love the eyes on me."

Eilish also largely credits deleting Twitter — which she called "the best decision of my life" — and therapy for changing her mindset. During her lowest struggles with mental health and managing her Tourette syndrome, Eilish said Twitter became a trigger.

"I was in Europe, in one of the worst headspaces I've been in," she said. "That's when I realized, 'You know what? Bye!' There are so many things I can't stop, but I can delete Twitter."

"I have too much love for myself," she added. "I don't need to see all these opinions. Shoo!"

ELLE's Women in Women in Music-themed October issue hits newsstands Sept. 24.