Artist Billie Eilish Reveals Diagnosed Tourrette's Syndrome

Up and coming singer-songwriter Billie Eilish candidly revealed on an November 27th Instagram post that she struggles with Tourette’s Syndrome. This news comes after viral compilations of her tics arose online, and being the typical socially aware teen she is, Eilish addressed them head on.

She took to her Instagram story saying, “I would like to get this straight so everyone can stop acting goofy.. I have diagnosed Tourette’s.” Eilish admitted she thought that fans would not take her seriously if she had previously revealed this due to her playful demeanor.

Tourette's is a common neuropsychiatric disorder that presents itself through uncontrollable motor tics that can be physical or verbal. Although it is not as unusual as one would think, there is a social prejudice around Tourette’s that comes from misunderstanding and possible confusion about the disease.

According to her statement, Eilish does not want to be known as a musician with Tourette’s but as simply a musician who happens to have a disease.

To many, this may have come as a slight surprise as Eilish’s tics are not incredibly apparent if not looked for. “My tics are only physical and not super noticeable to others if you’re not paying attention,” she said. “Believe me, HAVING them is a whole different type of misery.” Being a teen in the public eye is stressful as it is, so one can imagine how difficult is it for Eilish to have to hide her tics on a daily basis.

Unlike many celebrities, Eilish did not denounce the makers of the tic compilations and called the videos “lowkey funny”. She implied that fans were just confused to what it was and gave no fault to them for taking to the internet to make a joke of it.

“[I’m not going to go into] full detail, but if you want to know more, I am an open book.” Eilish stated.

By Annie Levy