Billie Eilish thinks you should have better things to worry about than why Drake is texting her.
The now-18-year-old starlet became the subject of the Internet's concern after she disclosed that 33-year-old Drake began texting her at age 14. Last year, Eilish told Variety that Drake was "the nicest person [I'd] ever spoken to," and fans quickly went on the offensive, citing the fact that Drake seems to have a habit of befriending teenage girls.
Drake came under fire in 2017 because of his friendship with Millie Bobby Brown, who disclosed that Drake often texts her "about boys," adding that "he helps me." Quickly, the Internet became fixated on the idea that Drake was "grooming" Brown, just like he apparently "groomed" a model named Bella Harris, whom he befriended when she was 14 and then became romantically linked to when she turned 18. He also met Hailey Baldwin when she was 14 and is rumored to have dated her when she was 19 and he was 29, and befriended Kylie Jenner when she was 16—and of course, dating rumors circulated six years later.
Most of this is unfounded gossip, but it's not all conjecture. There is concert footage of a 23-year-old Drake kissing a girl at a concert. When she tells him she was 17, Drake continues to kiss her and make inappropriate comments.
Many fans believe that regardless of whether Drake is dating teenage girls, it's still definitely a red flag that he's befriended so many of them, especially given his past. In addition, there are inherent power imbalances between famous older men and younger women—and just how close these two groups should become is the subject of an ongoing debate that always flares up whenever Drake finds another 14-year-old to text.
Both Billie Eilish and Millie Bobby Brown have defended their relationships with Drake. "Why you gotta make a lovely friendship ur headline?" Brown posted in an Instagram story in September 2018. "Now get back to talking about real problems in this world other than my friendships."
Eilish made a similar comment in her 2020 Vogue cover story. "The internet is such a stupid-ass mess right now. Everybody's so sensitive," Eilish said. "A grown man can't be a fan of an artist? There are so many people that the internet should be more worried about."
She added, "Like, you're really going to say that Drake is creepy because he's a fan of mine, and then you're going to go vote for Trump? What the f*ck is that sh*t?"
It's true: We could all be worrying about things like climate change, elections, all the amazing new music and art that's coming out every moment, or literally anything else, but yet the story of Billie Eilish, Millie Bobby Brown, and Drake will always be a surefire hit. Everything about it is skeevy and creepy and pointless and based on unfounded gossip and suspicion, and maybe we should be asking ourselves why we're so concerned about Drake and his relationship with teenage girls in the first place. Why these girls, specifically? Why Drake?
Yet reading these stories, it's hard not to wonder if someday we'll see the headline we've all been waiting for, the one that says Drake has done something awful to a teenage girl. We'll shake our heads quietly. I told you so, we'll say. I read those articles. I shared them online. I knew. I felt righteous.
It's truly easy to feel suspicious about a grown man texting and befriending so many underage girls, but the truth is, if Drake was actually going to face repercussions for his texting activities, he probably would've by now. So maybe we should celebrate Billie Eilish and Millie Bobby Brown's infinitely impressive personal achievements and autonomy rather than their texting choices, and maybe we should listen to them and focus on other real problems. But we all know that will never happen.