Finneas defends sister Billie Eilish after commenter calls her ‘Guess’ verse ‘predatory’
Charli XCX teamed up with Eilish for surprise remix of the third single from her hit ‘Brat’ album
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Finneas has hit out at a TikTok user who accused his sister Billie Eilish of singing a “predatory” verse on the remix of Charli XCX’s song “Guess.”
On Friday (August 2), the day after Charli and Eilish released the track and accompanying music video, a TikTok account named windows199x posted a video with Eilish’s portion of the song.
“I wanna try it, bite it, lick it, spit it / Pull it to the side and get all up in it / Kiss it, bite it, can I fit it? / Charli likes boys, but she knows I’d hit it / (Knows I’d hit it) / Charli, call me if you’re with it,” the 22-year-old Oscar and Grammy winner sings.
Footage of the TikToker seated on a carpeted floor while solving a Rubik’s Cube is overlayed with on-screen text that reads: “Billie’s verse on ‘Guess’ is high key predatory, but y’all blinded by her usual queerbaiting for commercial gain. Ever since the ‘Lost Cause’ controversy, she’s been reducing girls to mere objects, all in an effort to convince the masses that she’s actually into them lol. Charli is 32 and engaged FYI.”
In 2021, Eilish released her “Lost Cause” music video, which featured scenes of her and a group of girls playing games, eating snacks and dancing around the house at a sleepover.
The “Bad Guy” pop star was subsequently accused of queerbaiting fans with the video’s imagery. Queerbaiting refers to the marketing practice of including queer characters/relationships as a means to appeal to queer audiences.
“What a take you little clown. I got to watch the entire internet slam my sister for queer-baiting for an entire year when in reality, you were all forcing her to label and out herself,” Finneas, 27, responded in the comments of the TikTok video.
The Independent has contacted Eilish’s representative for comment.
Eilish first made a passing remark about her same-sex attraction to women in a 2023 interview with Variety. She was later asked during a red carpet event if she had meant to “come out” in the cover story, to which she responded: “No, I didn’t, but I kinda thought… wasn’t it obvious? I just didn’t realize people didn’t know.”
After her comments made headlines, she accused Variety of outing her.
“Thanks Variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11am instead of talking about anything else that matters i like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘what was i made for,’” she wrote on Instagram.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
Eilish has since reflected on her strongly worded caption, admitting that she “overreacted.”
“Who f***ing cares?” she told Rolling Stone in April. “The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it. Nobody should be pressured into being one thing or the other, and I think that there’s a lot of wanting labels all over the place. Dude, I’ve known people that don’t know their sexuality, or feel comfortable with it, until they’re in their forties, fifties, sixties. It takes a while to find yourself, and I think it’s really unfair, the way that the internet bullies you into talking about who you are and what you are.”
Of her quotes on the red carpet, Eilish said: “What I said was funny, because I really was just saying what they’ve all been saying. I know everybody’s been thinking this about me for years and years, but I’m only figuring out myself now.”