Billie Eilish Defends “Wasteful” Vinyl Variants Stance After Backlash From Taylor Swift Fans

Billie Eilish wants two things: to reduce the impact her career has on the planet, according to her new interview with Billboard, and to not have her words twisted, according to a new statement she posted on Instagram.

“Okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what I said in that Billboard article,” Eilish wrote in a statement posted to Instagram Stories over the weekend.

Last week, the Oscar winner opened up about her personal sustainability initiatives — namely, how she produces vinyl. Her last album, Happier Than Ever, was made with recycled vinyl and sugar cane shrink wrap. For those not in the know, most vinyl releases use single-use plastic shrink wrap that does not biodegrade and virgin vinyl, which is a plastic resin, aka fossil fuels.

“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging… which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money,” she told the outlet.

Eilish may have been referring to several artists like Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Olivia Rodrigo, and so many more who have released multiple versions of their albums on vinyl in the last decade — a number of fans and social media users took her comments as direct criticism of Taylor Swift, who, within the past year, released five colored variants of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and is currently selling five variants of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department.

“The dig at Taylor and other similar artists about charts and numbers was unnecessary and detracts from her original point,” one user wrote.

“I wasn’t singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues,” Eilish clarified in her statement on Sunday. “[And] when it comes to variants, so many artists release them — including ME! Which I clearly state in the article. The climate crisis is now and it’s about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better… sheesh.”

Screenshot/Instagram @billieeilish