- A clip that's been shared widely on TikTok showed
Billie Eilish mouthing a racist slur. - On Monday, she posted a lengthy apology on Instagram.
- The singer said she was 13 or 14 in the video and did not know the word was a racist slur.
Billie Eilish apologized after a resurfaced video showed her mouthing a racist slur.
In the clip, part of a compilation of videos of the singer that's been shared widely on TikTok, Eilish mouthed an anti-Asian slur in Tyler, the Creator's 2011 song "Fish." In a separate clip, Eilish seemed to speak in an affected voice, which some fans interpreted as her imitating different accents.
On Monday, the Grammy-winning 19-year-old said in a statement on her Instagram Stories that she was 13 or 14 in the videos and at the time did not know the word was derogatory.
"I am appalled and embarrassed and want to barf that i ever mouthed along to that word. this song was the only time i'd ever heard that word as it was never used around me by anyone in my family," she said. "Regardless of my ignorance and age at the time, nothing excuses the fact is that it was hurtful. and for that i am sorry."
Eilish said the clip that some people had interpreted as her imitating accents was footage of her "speaking in a silly gibberish made up voice," something she said she'd done regularly for many years.
"It is absolute gibberish and just me goofing around, and is in NO way an imitation of anyone or any language, accent, or culture in the SLIGHTEST," she wrote. "Anyone who knows me has seen me goofing around with voices my whole life."
She added that she did not mean to cause offense.
"It absolutely breaks my heart that it is being labeled now in a way that might cause pain to people hearing it," she wrote.
"I not only believe in, but have always worked hard to use my platform to fight for inclusion, kindness, tolerance, equity and equality. we all need to continue having conversations, listening and learning. i hear you and i love you."
Last week, People magazine reported that Matthew Tyler Vorce, an actor who's said to have been dating Eilish since April, had also apologized for racist and homophobic language in past posts on social media.
In an Instagram post, the 29-year-old wrote: "I want to apologize for the things that I wrote on social media in the past. The language I used was hurtful and irresponsible and I understand how offensive those words are. Whether it was a lyric, a quote, or just me being dumb, it does not matter."