Finneas defends Billie Eilish after ‘Guess’ lyrics were called ‘predatory’

Finneas is defending his sister after a commenter called Billie Eilish’s verse on Charli XCX’s “Guess” remix “predatory.”

The takedown came in the comments section of a TikTok posted on Friday (August 2), in which a user wrote that the 22-year-old singer’s lyrics about the Kid Critics of the luxury song were “predatory,” accusing her of “queerbaiting” and “reducing girls to mere objects, all in an effort to convince the masses that she really likes them.” The remark appears to be a response to the part of “Guess” where Eilish sings, “Charli likes boys, but she knows I would/ Charli, call me if you’re up for it.”

But the producer wouldn’t hear of it. “What a joke, you little clown! I got to watch the entire internet criticize my sister for harassing gay people for a whole year, when in reality, you were all forcing her to label herself and come out.”

It’s unclear whether the user who posted the criticism was sincere or simply trying to stir up trouble, but Finneas’s point remains valid. Eilish has been open about how difficult it’s been for her to talk about her sexuality on her own terms while growing up in the public eye, especially since she’s faced criticism for allegedly queerbaiting (or falsely catering to LGBTQ audiences for commercial gain) since 2019’s “Wish U Were Gay.”

The two-time Oscar winner faced similar accusations in 2021 for dancing sensually with women in her music video for “Lost Cause.” At the time, Eilish did not publicly identify as LGBTQ; in November 2023, however, she revealed to Variety that she was “physically attracted” to women, shortly after which she accused the media outlet of “outing” her on a subsequent red carpet.

“I like boys and girls, leave me alone please, literally, who cares,” she added on Instagram Stories at the time.

Since then, Eilish has become more comfortable talking about — and singing about — her sexuality. Before “Guess,” she discussed her desire for a woman in her Billboard Hot 100 hit “Lunch” and on her April album Rolling stone On the cover, she said: “I’ve been in love with girls my whole life, but I just didn’t get it – until last year, I realised I wanted my face in a vagina.”

“Who cares? The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I wasn’t allowed to say anything or control anything,” she continued in the article. “No one should be forced to be one thing or another, and I think there are a lot of labels that push us to want to be. Man, I’ve known people who don’t know their sexuality, or feel comfortable with it, until they’re in their 40s, 50s, 60s. It takes time to find yourself, and I think it’s really unfair, the way the internet forces you to talk about who you are and what you are.”