At only 17 years old, vegan singer Billy Eilish is already a chart-topping
musical sensation. She had her first taste of success when she uploaded a
recording to SoundCloud for her dance teacher back in 2015. The song, called
"Ocean Eyes," was an instant viral hit. Since then her unique musical take,
different to her peers and fellow vegans Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus - has seen her rocket to fame.
Her first full-length album "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?"
was both a critical and commercial success, topping the charts in a number
of countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
When she's not making music with her brother Finneas O'Connell, who produces all of her tracks,
"I think that anyone is capable of feeling anything and making anything at any age."
"Boredom leads to creativity a lot of the time."
Eilish is speaking out for the animals
Eilish joins a growing number of musicians adopting a vegan diet
including Miley Cyrus, Will.I.Am, and Beyonce. In a BuzzFeed video where she
plays with puppies, Eilish reveals her opinion that vegan singer Ariana Grande
is one of the most talented artists in the world.
"She's so cute ah! She's so talented, she's like one of the most talented people, I feel like, in the world.
Like I'm not even gonna say female because really one of those talented females like that, that $&%* is,
that is a talented $%^$# God.
This year, she performed at the Glastonbury Festival
alongside Miley Cyrus and rap group Wu-Tang Clan. The latter has many
vegan members including frontman RZA.
"I think hip hop is becoming more conscious, you know,
about the diets."
Speaking up for animals, Eilish recently shared undercover footage from Fair Oaks farms,
a dairy farm in Indiana which supplies to milk brand Fair Life,
a subsidiary of Coca-Cola.
Animal Recovery Mission or ARM conducted the operation and it was the
largest undercover dairy investigation in the U.S. to date.
The footage shows faarm workers punching, pushing, dragging and throwing calves who have been
separated from their mothers shortly after being born. The young animals are
instead force-fed from bottles. If they resist, they are beaten or stomped on.
Eilish wrote in an Instagram story: "I keep my mouth shut most of the time
about this because I believe everyone should do eat and say whatever they want...
and I don't feel the need to shove what I believe in anyone's face, but man if
you can watch the videos that I just posted and not give &$*%
that it's you contributing by literally eating the creatures that are being
fully tortured just for your pleasure, I feel sorry for you.
"Animals bro, like why just don't I just don't understand the point. Why would you
eat an animal when you could eat some chips?" (laughs)
When she uploaded the story, Eilish had more than 26 million followers on Instagram.
She now has more than 30 million followers on the social media platform.
Like many members of her generation, Eilish uses the power of Instagram to
connect with fans, promote music, and showcase brand partnerships.
The singer also partnered with Los Angeles-based clothing brand Freak City
to launch a signature capsule collection.
Launched in 2008 by Valerie Valle Campbell and
Justin Romero, Freak City has a cult following, particularly among the LA club scene.
It's also a favorite among celebrities including Nicki Minaj, M.I.A.,
Rita Ora, Paris Hilton and Eilish, who frequently wears the label on tour.
In line with her own personal style, her collection features loose-fitting and
gender-neutral offerings all made with vegan materials. The collaboration isn't
Eilish's first foray into the fashion world.
She was just signed on for her first major style campaign for MCM's genderless
fall ad series. Eilish is featured wearing bucket hats and a fanny pack.
In a viral Calvin Klein campaign, Eilish speaks her truth:
"I love to glorify the things that make people uncomfortable. We're so used to one way
of living that we think other people's lifestyles are wrong.
Sometimes automatically without even thinking. I want to mess with what people are used to,
I want to be that other."
She added: "I never want the world to know everything about me."
"I mean that's why I wear big baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion
because they haven't seen what's underneath, you know? Nobody can be like
oh she's she's slim thick, she's not slim thick, she's she got a flat #$% she's got a fat %*$.
No one can say any of that because they don't know."
The singer isn't shy about her opinions. She recently appeared in a Pitchfork video interview where she
was asked to rate things. She deemed prom 'overrated as hell' but pooping received a rave review.
"Pooping is my favorite part of the day. There was one day I pooped 8 times.
That was the best day of my life."
"I'm really talking about poop out here," she added,
before diving deeper into her feelings about bowel movements.
"It's really about your diet because you can have miserable poops.
People who don't like pooping are probably people who eat like #$&%.
Plant-based diets are known to be
high in fiber, a key factor for a healthy digestive system.
Recent research shows that diets rich in whole grains, fruit, and vegetables are more likely to pass
well-formed poops frequently. A 2016 study reported similar findings.
People who ate a plant forward diet over a 12-week period reported less constipation.
Eilish was raised a vegetarian but decided to go vegan in 2014.
"Becoming vegan wasn't like a huge deal for me because
I, like... Meat was never a thing in my life so it wasn't like I missed meat, it wasn't
like I had something to miss."
She wrote in a tumblr post in 2018: "I went vegan
like four years ago. There were a lot of reasons. I love animals and I just think
there's no point in creating something out of an animal when the animal is already there.
Leave animals alone. Also I'm lactose
intolerant and dairy is horrible for your skin, and my skin is very aware of that.
The musician isn't alone. Singer Mya has also credited cutting out dairy
with improving her skin. "I no longer get sick. Dairy has mucus buildup which is
awful for singers. I don't get sick, and my skin is clear, I lost 30 pounds, um,
I don't have to go to the gym as much, and I just have clarity like I mentioned before."
According to Healthline, dairy cows are treated with artificial
hormones that can negatively affect their milk supply. Those hormones may
create imbalances that can trigger acne. Instead of dairy based milk,
Eilish drinks soy. In webseries Hot Ones, produced by First We Feast and Complex Media,
celebrities answer questions about their life while eating spicy wings.
For her interview on the show, Eilish opted for vegan nuggets and soy milk.
During the interview, hosted by Sean Evans, the musician spoke about art, love,
Taco Bell, and at one point mix her dairy-free milk with grape soda.
Eilish also told Evans about a time when she sprained her ankle and was
supposedly "healed" by fellow vegan Jaden Smith.
"I sprained my ankle.
over my foot and was like, I'm healing you.
Smith is also a vocal vegan, environmentalist, and philanthropist. He recently opened a
plant-based food truck for the homeless called I Love You Restaurant.
Eilish completed the spicy interview challenge, despite the final sauce rating
two million-plus on the Scoville scale "Oh my god!"
"Billy, are you okay?"
The singer even came back for seconds.
She's not the only celeb to choose vegan
on Hot Ones. Natalie Portman, Weird Al Yankovic, Jeff Goldblum, and Ricky Gervais
have all eaten vegan nuggets and wings on the show.
"We're going vegan wings today obviously
just as we have with Russell Brand, Ricky Gervais, and others,
but for better or worse the sauces are still very much the same."
Eilish likes to share her love of food with her fans.
"Do you like spicy food?" "I love spicy food ."
"Do have a favorite ice cream flavor?" "Cookie dough."
"Okay so french fries or tater tots?" "French fries for sure."
In the lead up to her album release,
she created a vegan roadtrip map across the US with Uber Eats. The must-try food
list called "When We All Want To Eat Vegan Where Do We Go?"
revealed the food that fueled the young artist as she penned her studio album.
When in Austin, she eats colorful nutritious salad bowls from ATX Food Co.
In Los Angeles, her go-to is Cafe Gratitude. The organic plant-based food
chain serves up health shots, smoothies and spritzers.
In Miami she recommends Love Life Cafe. She says its signature dish the Love Life salad is one of the
most Instagrammable meals in the land. She told Uber Eats that when she's not
on the road, she likes to get creative in the kitchen by baking.
"It's like kind of a therapeutic thing for me so every time like I'm stressed out or
I have to whatever, I'm instead of doing what I need to do I'll just make peanut
butter chocolate chip cookies."
When asked what food she would be, she said
vegan burritos due to the sheer amount of them that she eats.
Eilish's commitment to raising awareness of veganism has been honored by fellow
members of the community. Activist clothing brand Vegan Club recently
released t-shirts to celebrate the singer. The LA based company creates
merchandise inspired by notable vegans. All of its apparel is eco-friendly,
sustainable, and free from animal products including the ink used in the designs.
The group has an overarching goal of veganizing the world through the
subliminal power of vegan artworks and fashion. Eilish joins other vegan
celebrities in appearing on vegan club merchandise musicians Prince, Morrissey,
and Miley Cyrus have made their way onto vegan club t-shirts and posters.
As well as actors Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix.
Eilish understands that people may have
a hard time initially switching to veganism, but believes that everyone
should at least try. "I don't know people would sort of come up with excuses on
like you know, all animals die anyway... I'm like bro, like we die anyway market you wouldn't
kill me because I'm gonna die eventually like that doesn't make any sense."
I understand that meat tastes good she said on her Instagram story. I know you
think you're just one person and it won't change anything if you stop but
that's ignorant and stupid.
That's it for today. What do you think about Billie Eilish?
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