“I wasn’t targeting anyone”: Billie Eilish explains herself after angering Taylor Swift fans

“Waste”. On March 28, during an interview with Billboard magazine, Billie Eilish complained about the lack of ecological considerations in the music industry. The 22-year-old singer particularly criticized artists who release multiple vinyl versions of a single album, simply to “encourage people to buy more and more.”

“It's right in front of us and people are getting away with it, and I find it really frustrating, me doing everything I can to be sustainable and do my best, trying to get everyone on my team involved in sustainable development, confided the singer. And now some of the biggest artists in the world are making 40 different vinyl packages that each have their own unique twist, just to keep you buying more. It’s wasteful, and it annoys me that we’re still at a point where we’re so concerned with numbers and money.”

If Billie Eilish did not cite any artist, Taylor Swift's fans quickly drew their conclusions, accusing her of attacking their idol, who launched a reissue of her albums. “We know exactly who she's talking about”, “oh the “Swifties” are going to hate this”, “we know Taylor doesn't recycle vinyl and ruins the environment so her trash albums sell”, fans complain.

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Billie Eilish reacted to the controversy by speaking again, this time on her Instagram account, in front of her 110 million followers on Sunday. “It would be great if people stopped attributing words to me that I didn’t say and read what was written in that Billboard article,” she says. I wasn't targeting anyone, these are systemic problems in the recording industry. And when it comes to variations, many artists post them – including me!”

Billie Eilish is also one of those musicians who release several vinyl versions of the same album. But unlike many of them, it strives to preserve the environment by marketing records produced from recycled vinyl, in packaging made from sugar cane. The 22-year-old singer, a two-time Oscar winner, has long been interested in ecology. In 2022, her Happier Than Ever tour was partnered with Support Feed, an organization fighting food insecurity and the climate crisis, founded by her mother. By choosing to serve only plant-based meals to its teams (24,000 in total), it estimates having saved 33 million liters of water. In June 2023, Billie Eilish gave a free concert at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, organized by Global Citizen, an awareness organization against poverty and for the climate.