Billie Eilish, one of the most popular, influential, and critically-acclaimed artists of our time, has lost 100,000 followers on Instagram since coming out.
On Monday, November 13, Eilish was featured on the cover of Variety’s Power of Women issue. Without actually labeling herself, Eilish said in the interview that she’s attracted to women, which was interpreted as a coming-out statement. She told the publication:
“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.”
She continued, “I have deep connections with women in my life, the friends in my life, the family in my life. I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.”
Eilish had 110,300,420 followers on Instagram when her Variety cover was released on November 13 (via Social Blade). As of December 3, the singer currently stands at 110,200,603. This means she has lost as many as 100,000 followers since coming out.
Social Blade
A particularly telling statistic from the Social Blade report is the loss of nearly 45,000 followers since Saturday, December 2, when Eilish walked the red carpet of Variety’s Hitmakers event and reaffirmed that she’s attracted to women. When asked about her “coming out” statement, the singer replied:
“I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious’? I didn’t realize people didn’t know. I just don’t really believe in it. I’m just like, ‘Why can’t we just exist’? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops.”
She added, “But I saw the article and I was like, ‘Oh I guess I came out today.’ Okay, cool. It’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know. But it’s cool that they know. I am for the girls.”
Despite her undeniable commercial and critical success, Eilish has been targeted in the past for her appearance. Namely, in September 2021, she wore a corset on the cover of British Vogue and received some backlash for it. Eilish told Elle:
“I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs. People are scared of big boobs.”
Back in August 2023, Eilish did an Instagram Q&A and implied that she might be somewhere in the queer spectrum. When asked who was her celebrity crush, Eilish shared a picture of Maya Hawke (Stranger Things). Another fan asked, “Fruity?” and Eilish’s response was a picture with many different kinds of fruit.
But it seems like Eilish’s actual coming-out statement in the Variety feature is now causing some real damage to her Instagram reach, having lost 100,000 followers already. Plus, there’s a chance that her recent red-carpet interview confirming that she “came out” could make the rounds among conservative crowds, which would make her an even bigger target for homophobic vitriol.
Eilish has had five top 10 songs in the Billboard Hot 100, including her no. 1 hit “Bad Guy.” On Spotify, she has over 64 million monthly listeners. Eilish has won seven Grammy Awards (from 25 nominations) and an Academy Award for Original Song with “No Time to Die” (from the James Bond film No Time to Die). She is also expected to be nominated for the 2023 Oscars with “What Was I Made For?” (Barbie).
It’s always upsetting to see anyone being targeted for their sexual orientation and/or gender expression, and it’s pretty astounding that even a superstar as big as Eilish isn’t exempt from facing homophobic backlash.
We’ve always been huge Billie Eilish stans, and we’re now ready to protect her at all costs from homophobes mobilizing against her.
