Singer Billie Eilish (19) apologizes for a racist term that she used in a video from five years ago that has now surfaced. She says she was not aware of the meaning of the offensive term at the time. “We must continue to listen and learn from each other.”
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A video in which the Californian singer uses a racist word and appears to imitate an Asian accent appeared on TikTok last month. Eilish playbacks Tyler, the creator’s song “Fish” in the video. It contains the word ‘chink’, a word that is considered a racist swear word. The video caused a stir in China, where fans would even call for a boycott of Eilish. She said she was ’13 or 14 years old’ at the time and was unaware that the term used was derogatory. She shared a lengthy statement on Instagram in which she apologized.
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“I am horrified and ashamed and I puke that I did such a thing,” Eilish wrote. “Except in this song, I had never heard of that word. But my ignorance and age were no excuse for doing something so hurtful. Sorry.”
Eilish denies that she would imitate an accent in the video. “In the other video, I’m babbling in a made-up language. As a child I sometimes did that when I spoke to my pets, friends and family. I absolutely did not imitate language, accent or culture. (…) I never wanted to hurt anyone. I have always worked hard to use my celebrity for inclusion, tolerance, tolerance and equality. We must continue to listen and learn from each other.”
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