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It was a very brave confession, especially considering that much of the pop-rock music scene is highly sexualized. But Billie Eilish, a superstar in recent years, didn’t hesitate to say that her use of pornography destroyed part of her childhood and youth.
"I started watching porn when I was like 11," the young woman said during an interview on the famous Howard Stern Show. "I think it really destroyed my brain and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn."
It’s paradoxical that it was precisely on this program that Eilish made this denunciation, since the show has always created controversy due to its explicit and vulgar sexual content.
"As a woman, I think porn is a disgrace. I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest," she said bluntly.
The singer further explained that she had “frequently watched violent pornography," a nearly constant exposure that harmed her deeply. Eilish didn’t attend high school, so she spent a lot of time at home where she was also homeschooled. It was during those years that she started watching porn.
During this radio interview she talked about the disorders that she believes this exposure had contributed to in her life, such as nightmares, sleep paralysis, and problems relating to men.
She has always presented herself dressed in baggy and masculine clothes because she didn’t want to draw attention to her physique. In addition, she has Tourette's syndrome, a condition that has severely limited her life and her interactions with other people.
An outspoken mental health advocate
Eilish has been one of the most outspoken young artists about mental health, sharing her own experiences and struggles. She even acknowledged that she had thought about suicide and, for that reason, she had been in therapy; all of this before she turned 18.
Despite everything, as she turns 20 she is now one of the most sought-after artists on the international scene, with only two albums on the market. In addition to many other recognitions, she has 7 Grammy awards to her credit and composed the main theme for the soundtrack of the latest James Bond movie, No Time To Die.
These statements condemning with such forcefulness the damage caused by the porn industry haven’t gone unnoticed, because they’re a first-person testimony of a phenomenon that sadly is becoming more and more widespread.
Numerous studies have shown that the early consumption of pornography in children and adolescents affects their neuropsychological development; causes physical, emotional and cognitive disorders; and conditions future intimate relationships.
Many experts remind us that pornography addiction is comparable to other addictions, since the person who watches pornography feels the need to consume more and more extreme pornographic content and to do so more frequently.
