Advertisement

Billie Eilish says she tries ‘so hard to do good for the world and good for people’ amid frustration over online critics

Billie Eilish says she tries ‘so hard to do good for the world and good for people’ amid frustration over online critics

Billie Eilish has addressed the pressures of fame and the criticism she faces on social media.

For a forthcoming BBC One documentary with DJ and presenter Clara Amfo, the 19-year-old pop star explained how she becomes frustrated with people who say “crazy stuff” as she tries “so hard to do good for the world and good for people”.

“The people that even say the crazy stuff don’t even think you will see it. They would never say that to you in real life,” she said.

“What is the point of trying to do good if people are just going to keep saying that you are doing wrong? I try so hard to do good for the world and good for people.

“It’s like you can try to do everything right and still it is like one of those exposing celebs accounts goes, ‘Billie Eilish is getting backlash for whatever in the world’. Please tell me how that works?”

The Radio 1 special also sees Eilish address the important role her mother, actress Maggie Baird, has played in shielding her from the pressures of fame: “You can only be so protected in this world,” she said.

“I can’t believe that there are people in my position without that protection because I don’t know how they do it. I really don’t,” the Grammy-winning artist added.

“I don’t know how, especially young artists and especially young woman... I mean, not having a mum or a safety net around you. I am very privileged in that sense.

Eilish released her second album, Happier Than Ever, to critical acclaim this week.

Billie Eilish: Up Close airs tonight (Saturday 31 July) on BBC One at 10.30pm.

Additional reporting by Press Association