Pop singer-songwriter Billie Eilish took the time to clarify that she wasn't specifically talking about Taylor Swift or any other of her fellow pop stars when she discussed the wastefulness of vinyl packaging in a recent interview.
On Monday, Apr. 1, Eilish clarified her talking points on her Instagram story.
"Okay so it would be awesome if people would stop putting words in my mouth and actually read what I said in the Billboard article," wrote Eilish. "I wasn't singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues [and] when it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME! Which I clearly state in the article. The climate crisis is now and it's about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better, sheesh."
Instagram (@billieeilish)
On Mar. 28, she spoke to Billboard about working to become eco-friendly and the role vinyl production plays in it.
"We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money," she explained. "I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is."
Eilish went on, "People are just getting away with it left and right, and I find it really frustrating as somebody who goes out of my way to be sustainable … and then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making fucking 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more."
The 22-year-old concluded, "It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers … and it’s all your favorite artists doing that shit."
While she didn't call out anyone by name, fan theories quickly jumped to conclude that she was singling out Taylor Swift. Swift's most recent album, Midnights, was released with over 20 variants spanning CD, vinyl, and cassette tape, though many other pop stars enlist the same tactics to drive up sales.
"Typical artists that uses Taylor for clout behavior," one stan account wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). "dragging Taylor then immediately announces that they're releasing music. Without shading Taylor no one was tuning up for her new era."
This seems to be the sentiment Eilish swatted away with her most recent comments.
The Billboard article pointed out that while Eilish's most recent album came out in eight vinyl variants, she used 100% recycled black vinyl, recycled scraps for the colored variants, and shrink-wrap made from sugar cane.
