If anyone has a ‘look’, it’s Billie Eilish. Only just 18, she’s something of a phenomenon – see, scooping the Grammy’s Big Four awards; see also, being the first woman ever to do so. As such, it’s probably not surprising that devotees are lining up to emulate her. It has long been proclaimed that impersonation is the sincerest form of flattery – Billie herself, though, wouldn’t agree.
Following a rash of fans venturing out in public, kitted out with the popstar’s signature green roots and baggy tshirts, Billie called a halt to the meme-able mimicry. Taking to Instagram, she wrote ‘Please stop doing this shit. It is not safe for you and it is mean to the people who don’t know any better you make me look bad.'
While Billie was addressing all her doppelgangers, there are a couple of instances worth reviewing specifically. One, involving photographer Jordan Matter and an impersonator breaking into an unauthorised backflip, prompted a public apology. Matter wrote ‘I had absolutely no intention of disrespecting Billie. I am a huge fan,’ explaining that he’d taken the lack of response to his request from Billie’s management as a green light for the stunt.
Better yet was the fan whose objectionable fashion sense earned them a specific call-out from the star herself. The only thing worse than being impersonated, after all, is being badly impersonated. ‘Sooo disrespectful that you’d go out pretending to be me wearing THIS’, wrote Billie, in response to an admittedly toe-curling ensemble of calf-height white socks and bright green shorts, which looked like a PE kit from an extra-terrestrial sports academy.
Once an internet phenomenon is in full swing, it’s hard to temper it. There’s no accounting for how these things make the leap from niche joke to bona-fide meme, but – for one reason or another – impersonating Billie Eilish seems to be firmly ensconced into 2020’s blossoming internet culture. Any signs of easing up?
Well, only this week Billie announced that she’ll be performing at the Oscars on 9 February. She’s bagged the new James Bond theme tune, too. So, while fingers remain crossed that her fans tone down the public impersonations, they’re arguably only testament to her mega-stardom. After all, the more famous someone is, the greater the impact of their appearing in the realm of us mere mortals; the greater the allure of slipping into their world, even just for the time it takes to walk through a town square. And with the artist’s star strongly in the ascendant, Billie Mania seems unlikely to abate any time soon.
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