Billie Eilish has revealed that living with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) can be “very exhausting”, in a new interview.
The 20-year-old experienced an on-camera tic when speaking on David Letterman’s My Next Guest show on Netflix.
“If you film me for long enough, you’re going to see lots of tics,” she said.
Over 300,000 children and adults are living with TS in the UK, according to Tourette’s Action.
TS is a condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics.
It usually starts during childhood, but the tics and other symptoms usually improve after several years and sometimes go away completely.
Billie said during the interview that she doesn’t experience tics while performing and that some specific tics have gone away over time, but others still occur on a regular basis.
“These are things you would never notice if you’re just having a conversation with me,” she says, adding, “but for me, they’re very exhausting.”
Offensive reactions from others
The singer said she “really loves” talking about her experience with TS, but acknowledged she is “incredibly confused by it”.
And she admitted people don’t always react in a good way when she experiences a tic.
“The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny. I’m always left incredibly offended by that,” she said.