Billie Eilish likes to buck conventions and so do her fans. Even though the 18-year-old singer has been a recognizable name in music for over two years now (depending on what you define as “recognizable”), her considerable fanbase still doesn’t have a unified name by which they refer to themselves.
Over the years, we’ve seen a wide and creative array of fandom names for musical artists–Directioners (One Direction), Swifties (Taylor Swift), the Beyhive (Beyoncé), Little Monsters (Lady Gaga), the list goes on. But there hasn’t even been too much public debate as to what Eilish fans are called. They’re just… Billie Eilish fans, right?
A tweet from Billie Eilish stan account @ccharteilish sparked a discussion last week with a tweet in which they referred to Eilish fans as “Avocados.”
“Avocados! Let’s help @selenagomez get #1 on Billboard Hot 200! Buy and Stream #RARE!” they tweeted.
https://twitter.com/ccharteilish/status/1217906993702285312
The reference was quickly picked up on by another Twitter user, who asked the question on everyone’s mind: “Are billie fans called … avocados???”
https://twitter.com/wildestscreamz/status/1217922493152931859
The connection between the “Bad Guy” singer and millennials’ fave toast topping is a random and somewhat outdated one, but it wasn’t just pulled out of thin air.
Before Eilish began topping Billboard charts, she went through a series of different usernames on social media—old school style, aka random descriptors rather than just first and last name. The most prominent one was @wherearetheavocados, which was her Instagram name for a time.
“I made this grilled cheese once, I was in the kitchen and I wanted some avocado, I was home alone, so I just screamed ‘where are the avocados’ and I decided to make that my username and here we are,” Eilish explained in a 2017 interview. “Now there are fan accounts like billiesavocados, herearetheavocados, therearetheavocados and it’s just this random thing I thought of four years ago.”
But Eilish fans don’t seem interested in Avocados being their defining term. If Eilish ditched the account, avocados are basically dead to them.
“That was a long time ago,” Twitter user @bilfavor wrote. “Even billie cringes at the mention of them now.”
pls pic.twitter.com/gTvk0zdhbx
— y (@pIayedthepart) January 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/wow_thatsGAY/status/1218369883056099329
https://twitter.com/billiesmimi/status/1218117988987084800
https://twitter.com/billiesmimi/status/1218215310127398913
Almost all the fans who chimed in on the debate agreed.
“Imagine saying ‘I’m a loyal avocado’ ‘I trust other avocados’ ‘you’re a fake avocado because you don’t stream billie’s music,’” Twitter user @maryumdeeme joked.
Avocados???? Imagine saying “I’m a loyal avocado” “I trust other avocados” “you’re a fake avocado because you don’t stream billie’ s music” kajsksjskshdhjs
— Maryum~⁷ (@eternaltanniess) January 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/herlondonboy/status/1218060341034266624
https://twitter.com/SlyHi_/status/1218268600777265152
A few fans came up with alternative suggestions since the avocado tweets basically opened a floodgate of discussions over a nameless fandom.
“We don’t have a name but I call us eyelashes,” Twitter user @LukeygagaX wrote, to which another user jokingly said Eilish fans should be called “billie-vers,” an apparent riff on Justin Bieber’s Beliebers.
you’re called billie-vers. everybody know that.
— CARRIONCASSETTE 😺 (@CarrionCassette) January 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/kattaay/status/1218394540228218880
https://twitter.com/Billbitsx/status/1218219879314182145
avocados>>>>>>eyelashes or pirates
— ★ (@seokjingrr) January 17, 2020
So the fandom remains either torn on a name or just insistent that there is no name and never will be a name because Billie Eilish fans aren’t going to be chained down by the traditions of internet society.
https://twitter.com/epiphanyschild/status/1218333439327383553
Either way, it’s definitely not Avocados.
READ MORE:
- A fan gifted Billie Eilish a jacket–it ended up in a thrift store for another fan to find
- Billie Eilish fans think they figured out who stole her ring
- Billie Eilish fans are Instagram trolling the boy she had a bad first kiss with
H/T Paper
