Alique/ELLE
"I'm still the same person. I'm not just different Barbies with different heads."
Billie Eilish believes she's lost thousands of followers due to her recent makeover.
19-year-old Eilish debuted a new look earlier this year, ditching her then-signature green hair for a platinum blonde look and adopting a more revealing wardrobe ahead of her release of the "Happier than Ever" album. In Elle's October 2021 issue, the singer says that not everyone has reacted to her transformation in a positive way -- going so far as to claim she lost fans and followers because of it.
"People hold on to these memories and have an attachment. But it's very dehumanizing. I lost 100,000 followers just because of the boobs," she said with a laugh. "People are scared of big boobs. You're not even supposed to really know who you are until you're at least my age or older."
Alique/ELLE
The "Happier Than Ever" singer also explained that she decided to go blonde due to her desire to be less recognizable when she went out in public. "I wanted anonymity," she told the magazine, explaining that her green hair was always a dead giveaway.
"I had no goal of 'This is going to make everybody think differently of me.' I've had different-colored hair and vibes for everything I've ever done. I wanted this album to have its own thing," she added.
"The other day, I posted a video from when I had green hair, and I saw people go, 'I miss this Billie, the green-haired Billie.' I'm still the same person. I'm not just different Barbies with different heads."
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
The 19-year-old also opened up about her frustrations with the public scrutiny over her fashion choices.
"The other day, I decided to wear a tank top. It wasn't even a provocative shirt. But I know people are going to say, 'Holy f---, she's dressing sexy and trying to make a statement.' And I'm like, 'No, I'm not. It's 500 degrees and I just want to wear a tank top.'"
63-year-old pop icon Madonna -- who knows a thing or two about facing public backlash over her image -- came to Eilish's defense in the article and gave her take on the unfair expectations women face in the entertainment industry.
"The problem is, we still live in a very sexist world where women are put into categories: You're either in the virgin category or the whore category," she told Elle. "Billie started off in a non-sexualized category, not pandering to the masses and not using her sexuality in any way, which is her choice and God bless her for that — after all, she's been a teenager all this time."
"[But] if she wants to turn around and take photographs where she is portrayed as a feminine woman, showing her body in a way that she hasn't in the past, then why should she be punished for it?"
Madonna continued, "Women should be able to portray themselves in any way they want. If Billie were a man, no one would be writing about this. A man can show up dressed in a suit and tie for the first three years of his career, and then the next month he could be dressed like Prince or Mick Jagger, shirt off, wearing eyeliner, and no one would say a word."
