billie eilish has opened up about living with tourette syndrome, a condition of the nervous system that involves making involuntary movements or sounds, called “tics.” the grammy award-winning singer and songwriter, 20, first revealed that she had the condition
in 2018
, but hasn’t spoken widely about it until having a conversation with talk show host david letterman during the first episode of his netflix show “my next guest needs no introduction.”
at one point in their conversation about music and fame, eilish cranes her neck to the side and opens her mouth. when letterman asks her if there’s a fly buzzing around, she explains it’s a tic, brought on by the bright lights. “if you film me for long enough, you’re gonna see lots of tics,” she said.
she’s comfortable answering his questions about the condition, she told letterman.
“i’m very happy talking about it… i actually really love answering questions about it because it’s very, very interesting. and i am incredibly confused by it, and i don’t get it,” she said.
there’s no known cause for tourette syndrome,
according to the mayo clinic
— it’s thought to be caused by some combination of genetic and environmental factors.
before a tic comes on, people will sometimes feel a tingling sensation, which won’t go away until the sound or movement is done. “you might be able to hold your tics back for a little while, but you probably can’t stop them from happening,”
webmd explains
.