Billie EilishBillie Eilish has opened up about her day-to-day experience of living with Tourette syndrome, admitting that she does “everything” she can to “suppress” her tics.
Diagnosed with Tourette syndrome – also known as TS – at the age of 11, the bad guy hitmaker detailed the frustration that comes with misunderstandings surrounding the condition.
According to the Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia, TS is characterised by “rapid, repetitive and involuntary muscle movements and vocalisations,” as well as often involving “behavioural difficulties.” Tics often increase with tension or stress and decrease when a person with the condition relaxes.
Eilish discussed her experiences in a new interview with actress and comedian Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast. “I do have Tourette’s and I have vocal tics, but luckily for me and for everyone else, they’re mostly just noises, and I can keep them pretty quiet,” the singer shared (per The Guardian).
Adding that she’s been honing “suppressing,” Eilish explained that it’s a decision she actively makes in situations such as interviews.
“When I’m in an interview, I’m doing everything in my power to suppress all of my tics constantly,” she said. “And as soon as I leave the room, I have to let them all out.”
Poehler and Eilish went on to compare living with TS to intrusive thoughts. The singer continued, “Imagine those intrusive thoughts, but your mouth has to say them out loud, right? That is Tourette syndrome.”
Eilish also stated that, because she was on camera with Poehler, she was focusing on “trying not to be distracting.”
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“I’m really doing this the whole time – as much fun as I’m having – I’m doing everything I can to suppress every single tic that’s visible, from the top of my head to [my waist],” she said.
Eilish concluded, “That’s how we, as people with Tourette’s, pretty much spend our days. Some people don’t even have the privilege of getting to suppress them at all in any way. The not understanding of that is really frustrating, as a person with Tourette’s.”
You can watch the interview below.
Eilish hasn’t been silent about her diagnosis. In 2022, she discussed how her tics were triggered by a change in lighting during an interview on Netflix’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
“If you film me for long enough, you’re going to see lots of tics,” she explained.
“I don’t care. It’s really weird. I haven’t talked about it at all. The most common way people react is they laugh, because they think that I’m trying to be funny. They think I’m [ticcing] as, like, a funny move… And I’m always left incredibly offended by that.”
Eilish toured Australia last February and March in support of her latest record, Hit Me Hard And Soft.
