Almost all of us can agree that Charli XCX's BRAT bonus track "Guess" is a certified bop, and that the new remix featuring Billie Eilish is even better than the original. But we'll never achieve consensus, will we? Maybe next BRAT summer.
Some people on TikTok and Twitter have been expressing their discomfort with the fact that Eilish's verse is a pretty sexually explicit come-on to Charli, despite acknowledging the fact that she "likes boys." More still seem perturbed by the 10-year age difference between the two artists, despite the fact that — to our knowledge, anyway — they're not actually getting all up in each other's underwear.
Eilish's brother FINNEAS, who previously sprung to her defence when Pitchfork gave HIT ME HARD AND SOFT a notably soft 6.8 rating, is none too pleased with this discourse surrounding his sister's first collaboration (with anyone but him) in six years.
"What a take you little clown," FINNEAS commented on a TikTok by user @windows199x that called Eilish's "Guess" verse "high-key predatory," in addition to noting that Charli is 32 and engaged. "I got to watch the entire internet slam my sister for queer-baiting for an entire year when in reality, you were all forcing her to label and out herself."
FINNEAS is referring to the queer-baiting allegations that have been lobbed at his sister since she released the cuddly, sleepover-set music video for "Lost Cause" from Happier Than Ever. @windows199x's TikTok claimed that, ever since that so-called controversy, the pop star had been "reducing girls to mere objects, all in an effort to convince the masses that she's actually into them lol."
While the road there may have been rocky, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT saw Eilish more comfortable expressing queer desire, especially on the blatantly sapphic single "LUNCH." If we're talking about age here, she's only 22 — and sexual identity can be a lifelong journey.
The pop star is far from the only musician to be accused of queer-baiting, which — much like the "industry plant" label — seems to be quite readily thrown at young women in music quickly gaining popularity, especially if they happen to use some pronouns that eschew heteronormativity in their songs. (Current Exclaim! cover stars the Beaches know a thing or two about it.)