Billie Eilish says she didn't have the 'resources' to hire security when she became too famous to go in public

• Billie Eilish said it was a "nightmare" when crowds of people began to recognize her in public.
• Eilish told V magazine that she was 16 when she became "scared" to go out alone.

Billie Eilish said it was a "nightmare" when crowds of people began to recognize her in public.

In a recent interview with V magazine, Eilish described the experience of returning to Los Angeles after her three-month "Where's My Mind Tour" in 2018.

"It was a nightmare and it scared the living hell out of me, because I was just turned into this prop," she said. "I've never been so scared. It was like, a huge stampede."

"In those three months, I'd gotten bigger, but I didn't know it until I was in that situation," she continued. "From that day on, I didn't go anywhere. I didn't do anything. I was so flipped out by what had happened and how powerless I felt."

Eilish was 16 at the time and had yet to release her celebrated debut album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"

She said she "didn't have the money" to hire security, even though she felt her safety was at risk.

"I was the level of fame that needs security, but also the level of fame where you don't really have the resources," Eilish explained.

Now 20, Eilish said that her rapid rise to fame caused her to leave childhood prematurely.

"I haven't thought like, 'What am I gonna do when I grow up?' since I was, I think, 15," she said. "Because I was doing the thing that I'm gonna be doing forever."

Eilish earned widespread acclaim in 2015 when her debut single "Ocean Eyes" went viral on SoundCloud. She has since released two full-length albums, including "Happier Than Ever" last year, and won seven Grammy Awards.