Billie Eilish has revealed that she has lived with Tourette’s Syndrome since she was 11 years old, describing the neurological disorder as “very exhausting”.
The 20-year-old singer opened up about the condition in an interview with David Letterman for his new Netflix series, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction”.
Eilish said that her tics, which are uncontrollable vocal or physical movements caused by the disorder, are subtle but “if you film me for long enough, you’re going to see lots of tics”.
Tourette’s Syndrome usually starts during childhood, but the tics usually improve after several years and sometimes go away completely, according to the NHS.
The “Bad Guy” singer told Letterman: “These are things you would never notice if you’re just having a conversation with me, but for me, they’re very exhausting.”
She described her main tics, which happen “all day long”. “I wiggle my ear back and forth and raise my eyebrow and click my jaw and flex my arm here and flex this arm, flex these muscles,” she explained.
“What’s funny is so many people have it that you would never know.”
She said that a couple of artists have revealed to her that they too live with Tourette’s, but she did not say who they were “because they don’t wanna talk about it”.
When she is performing or moving around, Eilish said she doesn’t experience her tics.
Despite being “incredibly confused by it”, Eilish added that she “really loves” talking about her Tourette’s because it’s “interesting” to her.
However, it can be offensive when people misunderstand her tics as her “trying to be funny”, she said.
“The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny, and I’m always left incredibly offended by that,” the singer said.
In the UK, more than 300,000 children and adults live with Tourette’s, according to charity Tourette’s Action.
