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Billie Eilish Responded To People Who Said She Only Won Her Grammys Because She's White: "I Agree"

"You know what? I agree with the sentiment; I get why people say that."

Terry Carter Jr.
by Terry Carter Jr.

BuzzFeed Staff

Billie Eilish is using her voice to call out racist double standards in the music industry.

Danny Moloshok / Reuters

In a recent interview with British GQ, the "Bad Guy" singer criticized the industry for labeling white artists' music as pop and Black artists' music as rap or R&B — an issue Tyler, the Creator also addressed at this year's Grammys.

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

"It sucks that whenever we — and I mean guys that look like me — do anything that's genre-bending or that's anything they always put it in a rap or urban category," Tyler said at the time. "I don't like that 'urban' word — it's just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me."

"I have always hated categories," Billie told GQ. "I hate when people say, 'Oh, you look like blank. You sound like blank.' It was such a cool thing Tyler said. I agree with him about that term."

Eric Gaillard / Reuters

"Don't judge an artist off the way someone looks or the way someone dresses," she continued. "Wasn't Lizzo in the Best R&B category that night? I mean, she's more pop than I am."

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

"Look, if I wasn't white I would probably be in rap. Why? They just judge from what you look like and what they know. I think that is weird," she said.

Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

"The world wants to put you into a box; I've had it my whole career," the 18-year-old stated. "Just because I am a white teenage female I am pop. Where am I pop? What part of my music sounds like pop?"

Billie also revealed she at least partially agrees with people who say she only won her five Grammys because of her race, saying, "Then there's the other side of this whole thing: people shitting on me because I am white. 'Oh, she's white, that's why she won.' You know what? I agree with the sentiment; I get why people say that."

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

"Truth is, they can say whatever they like, but don't undermine all the hard work it took for me to get here," she added.

Earlier this year, Billie admitted she felt "embarrassed" about her historic Grammy wins, telling Dazed she felt there were others artists who were more deserving.

"I was dead surprised. And I was embarrassed, dude, I was fuckin' embarrassed," Billie shared. "I was in front of Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey and fuckin' Beyoncé is nominated, and I win. I was like, noooo ... I don't deserve it. They deserve it."

Monica Almeida / Reuters

In her Song of the Year acceptance speech, Billie said she thought there were "so many other songs" that deserved the award.

More recently, Billie used her platform to speak out against racial injustice, posting a statement on Instagram in response to the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by Minneapolis police:

What do you think of Billie using her platform to speak out against systemic racism and acknowledging how she's benefitted from it? Tell me in the comments below!