Billie Eilish has been accused of queerbaiting in the video for her latest single, “Lost Cause”.
In the video – which dropped earlier this month – Eilish and a group of girls are shown at a sleepover, playing Twister, eating snacks, and dancing around the house. The friends are also depicted rolling around on top of each other in bed.
The clip has drawn criticism from fans, who allege that Eilish is queerbaiting her LGBTQ+ fans – that is, hinting at being queer without actually being queer. The musician sparked further speculation about the video and its meaning when she shared behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot on Instagram with the caption, “I love girls”.
Many fans were quick to question whether this was a coming out post, with one writing: “Bro is she saying what I think she’s saying.” Another said: “U cannot just put that caption and then dip… bestie explain.”
Then, alongside a selfie shared yesterday (June 13), Eilish wrote the caption, “I’m tireeeddddddd” – it’s unclear if this is in response to the criticisms. In the comments, fans urged the singer to offer more context and share a proper explanation about the video and her previous Instagram post.
This isn’t the first time Eilish has been accused of queerbaiting. In 2019, fans criticised the singer’s track “wish you were gay”, which sees Eilish wanting an explanation for unrequited love. It goes: “To spare my pride / To give your lack of interest an explanation / Don’t say I’m not your type / Just say that I’m not your preferred sexual orientation.”
In an interview with PopBuzz at the time, Eilish responded to criticisms, saying she believes the song was “a little bit misinterpreted”. “I tried so hard to not make it in any way offensive. The whole idea of the song is that it’s kind of a joke, it’s like, ‘I’m an ass and you don’t love me, and you don’t love me because you don’t love me and that’s the only reason, and I wish that you didn’t love me because you didn’t love girls’.”
In another explanation, Eilish added: “I wrote the song when I was 14 and madly in love with a boy. It’s supposed to be a fun and playful way at dealing with rejection.”
Watch the video for “Lost Cause” below.