Billie Eilish has vented her frustrations towards fans of Taylor Swift after they accused her of singling her out for criticism.
Bad Guy singer Billie lashed out at the music industry last week in a rant about sustainability, taking aim at artists who release records in a variety of formats for collectors. Whilst the 22-year-old stopped short of name-dropping Taylor directly, she hit out at the "biggest stars in the world" who are "wasteful".
Taylor released her most recent album Midnights in 2022, before going on to sell vinyl and CD copies of it in three additional colours as well as unveiling an extended "3am" edition. Billie, who is passionate about reducing carbon emissions and preventing climate change, told Billboard last week: "Some of the biggest artists in the world [are] making f***ing 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more. It’s so wasteful."
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She continued: "It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right, and I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable. 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 you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favourite artists doing that s***."
It prompted 34-year-old Taylor's fans to complain that it was unfair of her contemporary to aim her vitriol at her, with some labelling Billie a "hypocrite" having released her own material in a variety of colours in the past. Now, Billie has taken to her Instagram story to address those complaints.
"Okay so it would be awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and read what I actually said in that Billboard article," she began. "I wasn't singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues."
She continued: "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."
Billie's response appeared to only antagonise Swifties further, however, after they felt the statement included another dig with the word "ME!", which also happens to be a track on Taylor's 2019 album, Lover.
"Omg she said ME! She’s targeting Taylor," one fan cursed on X (formerly Twitter). Another wrote: "She said ME! We know who that song is from Billie, you aren’t slick." And a third penned: "Not her saying ME! in reference to the Taylor song which clearly singles out Taylor?"
Billie released her 2021 album Happier Than Ever in eight different variants, but ensured environmentally-friendly packaging was used, whilst her vinyl records were made out of 100% recycled black vinyl - and recycled scraps for the coloured editions. Her shrink-wrap packaging was also made from sugar cane in an effort to make an impact on the planet.
Billie's mum Maggie Baird has also helped out, working with the charity Reverb to make some aspects of her daughter's tour more eco-friendly. Works include composting food waste from Billie's shows in cities that allow it, and installing water-filling stations and recycle centres in arenas.
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