Billie Eilish faces backlash after 'privileged' comment on meat eaters and animal rights

Billie Eilish is facing backlash online for a recent comment she made on meat eaters who claim they 'love animals'.

The BIRDS OF A FEATHER singer was raised as a vegetarian, and has been publicly vegan for more than a decade. She also regularly uses her platform to advocate for animal welfare.

Eilish went vegan around 2014, and said in a blog post at the time that she was inspired to go vegan for a 'lot of reasons,' which included the impact of dairy on animal welfare.

The star has previously spoken about having friends who eat meat, and although she doesn't want to tell anyone what to do, she once told British Vogue: "I just can't go on in my life knowing what's going on in the world, and not do anything about it."

However, it's Eilish's most recent comments that have sparked backlash online.

In a recent interview with Elle, the singer called out the 'hypocrisy' of those who claim to love animals, but eat meat.

During the outlet's series, Ask Me Anything, the singer was asked: "What hill would you die on?"

Eilish then stated: "Y'all are not going to like me for this one," before sharing her opinion.

"Eating meat is inherently wrong," she answered.

"And the other thing is, two things can not coincide. 'I love animals. I love all animals so much, and I eat meat.' You just can't do both, sorry."

However, Billie's comments weren't directed at all meat eaters, as she clarified: "You can eat meat, go for it! You can love animals, but you can't do both."

The particular segment of Eilish's interview has since been circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a handful of people not impressed by the 24-year-olds comments.

Some even went as far as to claim her take on the matter came from a 'privileged' stance.

"This logic is flawed," wrote one social media user. "You drive a car, does that mean you don't love the environment? You use plastic, does that mean you don't love the ocean? You've swatted a mosquito, so do you hate wildlife? I guess you can't love birds, because you have glass windows?"

Another penned: "Love her bur she's kind of a hypocrite. Also I feel like this is a very privileged take lol."

"It is SO privileged, do you know how expensive that vegan s**t is?" another responded.

A fourth penned: "You can appreciate and love animals while still understanding that we are animals ourselves and need to eat."

However, others appeared to agree with the star, with one writing: "She's right but y'all aren't ready for this conversation."

Another said: "When you lowkey have the same opinion a celebrity got cancelled for..."

Eilish was also backed by animal rights organization PETA, who shared the clip on their Instagram account.

"What’s on your plate isn’t separate from your values! @billieeilish said what needed to be said with @elleusa and we’re standing on it. If you truly love animals, you can’t eat them!" they wrote in the caption.

UNILAD have contacted Billie Eilish's reps for comment.