Celebrity criticism, helpful or harmful? release of her new and upcoming music was highly anticipated. However, the details and nuances found in the music video’s content led fans and LGBTQ+ activists alike to accuse her of queerbaiting, a marketing strategy BY HAYLEE HUYNH used in the entertainment industry to lure Staff Reporter queer audiences into consuming content Billie Eilish, 19 year old singer-songwriter without giving actual representation of queer and beloved amongst all generations takes a characters and relationships. misstep with the release of her music video for This controversy created a divide in single “Lost Cause” Eilish’s fanbase, as a part of her latest some refusing to album “Happier Than participate in any Ever.” media she produces The controversy while others stemmed from continue to support the content of I watched her music video and defend her. the music video, and I didn’t understand why “I was like a really which portrayed a big fan, you know, people were mad at it [...] group of women, and then after the including Eilish, mainly because she’s definitely ‘Lost Cause’ music playfully hanging not the first person or first like, video and [...] her out in a cliffside Instagram female I guess to have a music recent mansion, singing posts and stuff saying along to the song video like that. like ‘I love women’ about an ex partner and all that it was who was immature Anais Guillaume, junior kind of like, I was like and irresponsible. really confused by The scenes span that,” said freshman out over different times of the day, all the Bee Wiggin, queer student and former fan of women clothed in silk nightwear with sexual Eilish. implications in their body language. Here, Wiggin is referring to the behindWith Eilish being an award winning artist the-scenes photos Eilish posted on her with millions of fans around the globe, the personal Instagram account with the caption
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“wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish March 29, 2019
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Eilish’s British Vogue Cover May 2, 2021
“i love girls” eight days following the release of the music video on June 2. Wiggin also highlighted how Eilish has an unnoticed history of queerbaiting. “I feel like she gained a lot of queer fans from like, various things she’s done,” they expressed. “And like the song ‘wish you were gay’, I feel like everyone looked at that and was like, ‘oh my goodness, is this another queer artist?’ But then it actually wasn’t and she kind of was like, abusing the term.” Though this sentiment is valid and shared amongst many people, there are other listeners who don’t think Eilish’s behavior was deserving of the level of outrage it received. “I watched her music video and I didn’t understand why people were mad at it [...] mainly because she’s definitely not the first person or first like, female I guess to have a music video like that,” said junior Anais Guillaume. She mentioned instances of Rihanna and Shakira in “Can’t Remember to Forget You” and Cardi B and Normani in “Wild Side” where their music videos would also be categorized as queerbaiting if they were held to the same standards Eilish is. “In the Normani music video with Cardi B, there’s a scene where they’re also super close and like the music video with Rihanna and Shakira where they’re all close and stuff [...] it’s like super hyper sexualized. So like I said this is not the first case of [queerbaiting] nor the worst like when you compared to those two
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“Lost Cause” music video June 2, 2021
