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Billie Eilish was criticized for following alleged abusers Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, and XXXTentacion on Instagram — so she unfollowed everyone

Jun 24, 2020, 22:10 IST
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Billie Eilish, center, was criticized for following Chris Brown and Justin Bieber on Instagram.Kevin Mazur/Karwai Tang/Getty Images / Steve Granitz/WireImage
  • Billie Eilish recently posted a message to victims of abuse, signaling her support and offering to unfollow any alleged perpetrators.
  • "If I am following your abuser DM ME & I will unfollow them," the post reads, which Eilish reposted on her Instagram story. "I support you."
  • Eilish immediately received backlash on Twitter, as people noticed she was still following multiple male celebrities who have been accused of abuse.
  • These men included Chris Brown, who physically assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna, Justin Bieber, who has recently been accused of sexual assault, and XXXTentacion, who was charged with domestic abuse before his death.
  • Eilish appeared to unfollow a slew of controversial celebrities in response, but then decided to clean house. She is currently following one person.
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Billie Eilish has unfollowed everyone on Instagram after receiving backlash about her apparent support of alleged abusers.

The 18-year-old singer recently posted a message to victims of abuse, signaling her support and offering to unfollow any alleged perpetrators.

"If I am following your abuser DM ME & I will unfollow them," the post reads, which Eilish reposted on her Instagram story. "I support you."

The original post, created by @shayanneigans, has been shared by numerous high-profile people on Instagram — including Eilish's brother, Finneas O'Connell — and currently has nearly 400,000 likes.

Eilish, however, immediately received backlash on Twitter, as people noticed she was still following multiple male celebrities who have been accused of abuse.

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These men included: Chris Brown, who has been repeatedly accused of battery, domestic abuse, and rape; Justin Bieber, who has recently been accused of sexual assault by two women; Ansel Elgort, who was recently accused of sexually assaulting a woman when she was 17; and XXXTentacion, who confessed to abusing his pregnant girlfriend before his death.

The "Bad Guy" songstress deleted the post shortly after she shared it on her story. At the time she deleted it on Tuesday evening, she had not unfollowed anyone.

Then, about one hour after deleting the post, fans noticed that Eilish had unfollowed Brown and Bieber.

According to updates from fan accounts, Elgort and XXXTentacion came shortly after.

Eilish's following count continued to dwindle. She unfollowed many more celebrities, including Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez. At one point, she was only following 39 users, including her family members.

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Finally, Eilish apparently decided to clean house. She currently follows only one user on Instagram, but the platform doesn't disclose which account she's still following.

Some fans remained unsatisfied, however.

Eilish's critics believe that unfollowing everyone is an empty gesture, which undermines the concept of severing connections with alleged abusers.

Eilish previously collaborated with Bieber on a remix of 'Bad Guy,' and has praised XXXTentacion repeatedly in the past

Eilish's love for Bieber is well-documented. She was a tween when Bieber was at the height of his fame, and told Marie Claire in 2019 that she considers Bieber her first true love.

"It wasn't like I was just a fan, man," she told the magazine. "I've been in love before, and it was with him."

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The two stars met at Coachella later that year, and subsequently collaborated on a remix of Eilish's smash hit "Bad Guy." The cover art shows a youthful Eilish in her childhood bedroom, surrounded by posters of her idol.

As for XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Onfroy, Eilish has already received criticism for supporting him.

During his lifetime, Eilish considered Onfroy a friend and confidant. After he was shot and killed in 2018, Eilish publicly mourned his death, calling him "the strongest human being ive ever known" — but was harshly criticized as an abuser apologist.

"I want to be able to mourn, I don't want to be shamed for it," Eilish told the New York Times. "I don't think I deserve getting hate for loving someone that passed."

At the time of Onfroy's death, the 20-year-old rapper was awaiting trial on charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and witness tampering.

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According to court documents obtained by Pitchfork, Onfroy's girlfriend testified that he slapped her, threatened to penetrate her with a "barbecue pitchfork" and a "barbecue cleaner," punched her, "stomped on" her, strangled her, and repeatedly threatened to kill her and their unborn child.

He was also known for homophobia — as he once described, in graphic detail, nearly beating a former cellmate to death because Onfroy thought he "did some gay s---" — and physically assaulted fans on multiple occasions.

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