Billie Eilish has revealed that she dyed her hair platinum blonde because she wanted to draw less attention.
In an interview with Elle magazine, the 19-year-old Happier Than Ever singer said her previous hair colour, her signature acid green and black, made her feel like she “couldn’t go anywhere”.
In March, Eilish shared a video to her Instagram in which she unveiled a new platinum blonde style. The video has since gained more than 47 million views.
Speaking to Elle, Eilish said: “I couldn’t go anywhere with that hair because it was so obviously me. I wanted anonymity.”
She explained that she had become so used to being recognised for her hair in public that even after she went blonde, she instinctively tried to hide her head.
“I went to a park with a friend, and I was like, ‘No, I can’t take off my hood!’ I was terrified of the paparazzi and these stalkers I’ve had.
“But my friend was like, ‘Don’t worry: You’re okay. Nothing’s gonna happen.’ And I took my hood off, and I felt like a new person,” she said.
Another factor behind the decision to dye her hair, Eilish explained, was to mark her latest album, Happier Than Ever.
“I had no goal of ‘this is going to make everybody think differently of me’. I’ve had different-coloured hair and vibes for everything I’ve ever done. I wanted this album to have its own thing.”
While many lauded her new look, some fans flooded her hair reveal with comments of disapproval.
“The green hair is most you,” one person wrote under the post. Another said they “missed the green hair”.
Telling Elle that she had seen similar comments, Eilish said: “I’m still the same person. I’m not just different Barbies with different heads.”
Eilish, who is known for her streetwear style and is usually seen in baggy clothing, received a similarly mixed response when she recently posted a photograph of herself wearing a Miaou tomato-print corset to her Instagram.
“People hold on to these memories and have an attachment. But it’s very dehumanising.
“I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs. People are scared of big boobs,” she said.
Fellow pop icon Madonna said Eilish is dealing with the repercussions of a “sexist world where women are put into categories”.
“Billie started off in a non-sexualized category, not pandering to the masses and not using her sexuality in any way.
“[But] if she wants to turn around and take photographs where she is portrayed as a feminine woman, showing her body in a way that she hasn’t in the past, then why should she be punished for it?” she said.
