Abuse can “happen to anyone” and “you have no control over it”, Billie Eilish has said as she described singing about an experience she suffered as a child.
Speaking ahead of her headlining show at Glastonbury this week, the US star also said it can take time to realise that a relationship “wasn’t what you thought it was”.
Eilish, 20, said singing about an episode in her own life had made her feel “really vulnerable”.
She told The Sunday Times: “Here’s all these secrets about me and here’s all these insecurities I have and here are all the things I keep to myself.”
The lyrics to her song Getting Older include the phrase “wasn’t my decision to be abused”.
She adds, in a later verse: “For anybody asking, I promise I’ll be fine. I’ve had some trauma, did things I didn’t wanna; Was too afraid to tell ya, but now, I think it’s time.”
She said it happened when she was younger, but did not give any further details.
Another song from her album Happier Than Ever, called Your Power, is about abusers who take advantage of underage girls.
She sings: “She said you were a hero; You played the part; But you ruined her in a year.”
Eilish told the newspaper: “There’s a verse in Your Power that is about my experience and that’s as specific as I’ll get.
“The rest of it is about so many other things I’ve witnessed – from all these different points of view.”
She said abuse “does change you” and “makes you feel this responsibility and regret and embarrassment”.
Billie Eilish at the Grammy Awards in April
Eilish continued: “You feel guilty. You feel like it is your fault and it’s because of you and you started it and this and that.
“And you’re, like, but wait, I didn’t, though, because I was just a kid.
“We blame ourselves and usually the people abusing you blame you too when it’s nothing to do with you. Especially when you’re young and your brain isn’t developed and you don’t know what is right or wrong.”
Pondering on how an abuser can enter someone’s life, Eilish said that when you discover an encounter wasn’t what you thought it was it “drives you crazy”.
She added: “The worst part is it can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter how vigilant your parents are.
“It doesn’t matter how smart you are, it doesn’t matter about your judgement, it can just happen to you and you have no control over it.
“It’s crazy. And a lot of the time people who have that ill intention seem to be really charming on the outside, they can be charming to your family, they can make a really good impression on your friends. And they take advantage of that.”
Eilish headlines the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Friday.
