A video surfaced on TikTok showing the seven-time Grammy award-winning artist mouthing along to an anti-Asian slur used in Tyler the Creator’s 2011 song “Fish”.
What We Know:
- TikTok user @lcxvy uploaded a compilation of various clips that were circulated for at least a week before Eilish’s apology. The video had reached more than a million views. In follow-up posts, the user said she was a huge fan of Eilish and was not intending to “cancel” her but instead was hoping she would address the recordings.
- In one clip, Eilish is seen mouthing the slur and in another, it appeared she imitated an accent. She released a statement on her Instagram Stories on Monday addressing the videos. At the time of the recording, she was only 13 or 14, and that the term was, as she wrote, “never used around me by anyone in my family.”
- Eilish also addressed the impression, saying it was a voice she has used her whole life around pets, friends, and family. She said it was in no way a mockery of any culture. “Regardless of my ignorance and age at the time, nothing excuses the fact that it was hurtful. And for that I am sorry,” Eilish wrote in her statement.
- She also went on to say that her platform has always been a space to push for inclusion and kindness along with tolerance and equality. She continued, “We all need to continue having conversations, listening and learning. I hear and I love you.”
The backlash surrounding these videos brought a flurry of coverage to Eilish prior to her second album release, Happier Than Ever, at the end of July.
