Billie Eilish Was ‘Scared to Step Outside’ Before Overcoming Her Fear of Public Spaces

Grammy-winning musician Billie Eilish has been in the public eye for several years, after her 2019 debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? launched her to international stardom. Eilish wasn’t used to the overwhelming fame in public, and for years avoided stepping outside to attract unwanted attention.

Billie Eilish had a fear of going outside

Eilish opened up about her fear of going out in public — and how she overcame it — in September 2022 interview on Australian radio show Fitzy & Wippa.

When Eilish is on tour, as she was when she was Down Under on her Happier Than Ever world tour, she often preferred to “I don’t go out,” the “Therefore I Am” singer said. “I used to go out and like walk around and do stuff. And I don’t do that as much. Because life is a little different.”

“[While on tour] I was just like, scared to step outside because I was just worried,” she continued. “I’m more chill about it. Now I’m more comfortable in it.”

She’s had to adjust to being famous

Billie Eilish started recording music in the mid-2010s, but became a worldwide superstar practically overnight after the release of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019. The singer was just 16 at the time, and was dealing with an industry that was both demanding and inconsiderate of her needs as a young person.

Eilish spoke about the time in a 2021 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“I hated going outside. I hated going to events. I hated being recognized. I hated the internet having a bunch of eyes on me. I just wanted to be doing teenager s***,” she said. She eventually became depressed and her body was run down due to the immense amount of stress.

The pandemic helped her realize things about herself

When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first broke out in early 2020, Eilish was in the midst of touring her smash album, fresh off winning several Grammy Awards at the top of the year.

The pandemic, it turned out, came at the perfect time for Eilish. She told the LA Times the extended time at home allowed her to “do the self-reflection I’ve never had the time for.” After her whirlwind brush with fame and immediately going into lockdown, she was able to process her breakout “and how it affected me — how I actually feel about it all instead of just doing it.”

Later in 2020, she sat down with Vanity Fair and was able to think about her time off the road and how it helped her.

“This is the most time off I’ve had in five years now,” Eilish said of the break. “That was even true for the first month of quarantine. We had three weeks off and I was like, ‘Wow, this is the most time off I’ve ever had! It’s so great! It’s like a free vacation! And we’ll go right back out on tour in a week, and we’ll be fine!’”