Billie Eilish says exposure to pornography at age 11 left her with nightmares

BBC News Brasil

Singer Billie Eilish described how she had nightmares after being exposed to “abusive” pornography from the age of 11 onwards. The 19-year-old said in an interview with SiriusXM that she now feels “devastated” as she reflects on her exposure to the content.

Eilish said the experience led her to “not say no to things that weren’t good” when she started having sex. “It was because I thought that was what I should be attracted to,” said the Grammy winner.

Eilish, who is about to turn 20, has spent much of her teenage life in the public eye. She has built a reputation for wearing a loose-fitting style and has regularly talked about body image and being sexualized growing up.

The pornography theme emerged in the interview because it was referenced in a song, “Male Fantasy” (“Male Fantasy”, in literal translation), from his album “Happier Than Ever” (“Happier Than Ever”, in literal translation).

She told interviewer Howard Stern that she now thinks pornography “is a disgrace” after watching content she described as “violent” and “abusive” while growing up. Eilish particularly criticized the way pornography can represent women’s bodies and sexual experiences.

“I didn’t understand why that was a bad thing — I thought it was how you learn to have sex,” Eilish said of watching the content, adding that her mother was “horrified” when she told her.

“I was an advocate (of pornography), I thought I was one of the group and that I would comment on it and I thought it was really cool that I didn’t have a problem with it and that I didn’t think it was bad.”

The singer-songwriter said she believed that seeing the content at such a young age had “destroyed” her brain and caused nightmares. Eilish said it’s a “real problem” that pornography can undermine a broader understanding of what is normal during sex, including consent.

The assessment is shared by experts with a focus on child welfare – including UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) – who say exposure to pornography at a young age can be harmful. They say pornography that portrays abusive and misogynistic acts can lead to normalization as well as mental health problems and other negative outcomes in children.

Eilish also discussed a number of other issues in her interview, including dating in the public eye and having contracted Covid-19 earlier this year despite being vaccinated.

“I didn’t die and I wasn’t going to die, but that doesn’t diminish how miserable it was. It was terrible,” she said, adding that she hadn’t been well for nearly two months.