Billie Eilish condemns Jimmy Kimmel for ‘making me look stupid’ over Van Halen
Star was mocked after she explained she didn't know who Van Halen were
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Your support makes all the difference.Billie Eilish has addressed talk show host Jimmy Kimmel mocking her for not knowing the band Van Halen, remarking that he made her “look stupid”.
Eilish made the comments while collecting the Hitmaker of the Year Award, handed out annually by Variety magazine.
During her speech, Eilish said: “Thank you so much, Variety. Thank you for not making me look stupid like everybody else wants to do on TV – love that.”
A November clip from Kimmel’s talk show went viral last week, in which the host asked Eilish to name a single member of the rock band Van Halen.
“Who?” Eilish replied. “No, who is that?”
“I’m gonna start crying,” Kimmel announced to the audience.
Wolfgang Van Halen, bassist for the band and son of founding member Eddie, later defended Eilish, writing on Twitter: “If you haven’t heard of Billie Eilish, go check ‘em out. She’s cool.
“If you haven’t heard of Van Halen, go check them out. They’re cool, too. Music is supposed to bring us together, not divide us. Listen to what you want and don’t shame others for not knowing what you like.”
Eilish also used her Hitmakers speech to urge record labels to trust their young artists.
“Managers and labels,” Eilish said, “please listen to your artists, even if they have a stupid idea – at least hear them out. It might not be stupid, so just listen to people and be open-minded and trust, and don’t think because it’s not like everything else doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
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