Billie Eilish, known for wearing oversized clothing to shield herself from objectification, just appeared topless on a cover of Nylon magazine — and she was as shocked as anyone.
The 17-year-old singer blasted Nylon Germany in the comment section below the heavily edited photo, which the brand posted to its Instagram earlier this week. The cover depicts Eilish as a bald, ‘Ex Machina’-esque figure with bare shoulders and a shiny, futuristic glow, hailing her as a rising star and digital prodigy. But the ‘Bad Guy’ artist was not pleased.
“What... is this,” Eilish wrote. “I was never approached by nylon about this piece whatsoever. I did not know it was happening nor did anyone on my team. This is not even a real picture of me. I had absolutely no creative input.”
The pop star went on to scold Nylon for running a seemingly nude image of a minor. Eilish has previously said that she prefers to sport baggy apparel to cover herself, and became the subject of a Twitter storm earlier this year when some users circulated a rare photo of her in a form-fitting shirt — prompting wrath from her loyal fans.
“You’re gonna make a picture of me shirtless? That’s not real? At 17 and make it the cover?” she commented. “Even if the picture was supposed to look like some robot version of me... I did not consent in any way. ANNNDDD YOU’RE GONNA REMOVE ALL MY... HAIR booooooooooo to you.”
Nylon later altered the caption on the post — part of a series spotlighting up-and-coming talent — to explain its artistic choices, before deleting the photo from its feed altogether.
“For this cover, it was never our intention to create a look that is confusing or insulting to Billie Eilish,” the edited caption read. “It was only ever our intention to honour Billie’s impact and her work by creating this avatar which is part of a cover series highlighting the power of digital prodigy artists. This avatar is a piece of 3D artwork created in dedication to her achievements and the positive effect she has had on millions around the globe — including us.”
