March 10 (UPI) — Billie Eilish began her “Where Do We Go?” tour Monday in Miami, showing a video between songs in which she sheds her traditionally baggy sweater and spoke out against body shaming.
“Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it, some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me, but I feel you watching, always,” Eilish said. “Nothing I do goes unseen.”
Eilish said she could not live or perform for the approval of others.
“While I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sighs of relief, if I lived by them, I’d never be able to move,” she said. “Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?”
At 18, Eilish has experienced the upside and downside of fame as a teenager. She won awards from Grammys to BRIT Awards. She became the youngest performer ever to sing a James Bond theme song for “No Time to Die.”
She has also faced criticism for her fashion sense. She said wore baggy clothes, including during a Calvin Klein campaign, specifically so critics could not see what her body looks like. She faced body shaming anyway, so her concert reveal was a significant statement.
In November, she told Jimmy Kimmel that she tries to remain present amidst all the work and criticism. That is advice she got from Spice Girl Mel C.
Eilish is on tour in the United States through June and then tours Europe.
