Have you ever questioned what it’s like to navigate the world with a neurological disorder that’s largely invisible to the naked eye? Two years ago, Grammy Award-winning artist Billie Eilish, in an illuminating exchange with David Letterman for his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, opened up about living with Tourette syndrome, offering us a rare glimpse into her personal journey with the condition.
Diagnosed at the age of 11, Eilish’s candor on the subject is not only refreshing but also serves as a beacon of awareness, dispelling myths with each tic she bravely shares with the public. But have you ever considered the courage required to turn personal challenges into a platform for advocacy and enlightenment? Eilish claimed that the typical response to her having a tic has often left her feeling “incredibly offended”.
A Closer Look at Billie Eilish’s Forthright Thoughts on Tourette Syndrome
In a 2022 interview in David Letterman’s Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Billie Eilish, 22, opened up about her Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder that she was diagnosed with at the age of 11. In the interview, the Ocean Eyes hitmaker discussed what it’s like to live with the condition and the struggles she faces daily.
“A disorder that involves repetitive movements or unwanted sounds (tics) that can not be easily controlled” is how the Mayo Clinic describes Tourette syndrome. For Eilish, some of her tics include wiggling her ear back and forth, raising her eyebrow, clicking her jaw, and flexing her muscles. She told Letterman:
I never don’t tic at all, because the main tics that I do constantly, all day long, are like, 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.
These tics may not be noticeable to others during a regular conversation, but for the nine times Grammy winner, they can be exhausting:
These are things you would never notice if you’re just having a conversation with me, but for me, they’re very exhausting.
Eilish further claimed that her tics do not happen as frequently when she is “focusing” on other activities, like singing or riding horses. However, Tourette’s Action estimates that over 300,000 adults and children in the UK suffer from TS. The singer acknowledged that she is “incredibly confused by it”, but she also declared that discussing her TS experience is something she “really loves”.
One of the most difficult aspects of living with Tourette’s syndrome for Eilish is how people react when they witness her tics.
How Society’s Perception of Tourette Syndrome Affects Billie Eilish
During the same chat with David Letterman, Billie Eilish shared that many people laugh because they think she’s trying to be funny, not realizing that these tics are involuntary. She then expressed feeling offended by this reaction and emphasized that it’s not a joke or something she can control:
It’s really weird, I haven’t talked about it at all. The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny. They think I’m [ticcing] as a funny move. And so they go, ‘Ha.’ And I’m always left incredibly offended by that.
Despite the challenges she faces, Eilish has found some solace in sharing her diagnosis with others. She revealed that some fellow artists have also opened up about their own Tourette’s diagnoses after she spoke publicly about them.
So many people have it that you would never know. A couple artists came forward and said, ‘I’ve actually always had Tourette’s’. And I’m not going to out them because they don’t want to talk about it.
This sense of camaraderie has helped Eilish feel more at peace with her condition and has given her confidence.
Eilish’s diagnosis at a young age has shaped her perspective on the condition, and she has learned to accept it as a part of who she is. While she may not like it, she has made friends with her Tourette’s and is now more confident in herself.
It’s not like I like it, but I feel like it’s … part of me. I have made friends with it. And so now, I’m pretty confident in it.
Eilish, embracing her experiences with sincerity, shines a light on the disorder, which is just as much a part of her as her music—and that’s a harmony of knowledge and acceptance we can all learn from.
