Billie Eilish Opens Up About Her Tourette Syndrome

The singer says her fans made it more comfortable to talk about her condition.

Just a few months ago, singer Billie Eilish confirmed that she has Tourette syndrome, a neurological condition that can cause a person to have physical or verbal tics. During a recent appearance on the “Ellen” show, Billie said she didn’t necessarily want to share her diagnosis publicly — but doing so has allowed her to connect with her fans on a new level.

“It’s something I’ve lived with my whole life, and it’s not anything different,” she said during the interview. “I just never said anything because I didn’t want that to define who I was. I didn’t want it to be ‘Billie Eilish the artist with Tourette’s.’”

But since she first opened up about her condition on Instagram, Billie says so many fans have reached out to her with messages of support and solidarity.

“A lot of my fans have it, which made me feel kind of more at home with saying it,” she said.

Previously, Billie has posted an Instagram story detailing a little bit more of what she experiences. 

“My tics are only physical and not super noticeable to others if you’re not really paying attention,” she wrote. “Belive me, HAVING them is a whole different type of misery. … I’ve taught myself ways of supressing my tics and certain techniques to reduce them when I don’t want to be distracting in certain situations, but again supressing them only makes things worse after the moment is over.”

For more from Billie, you can check out her interview with Ellen below: