Entertainment

Billie Eilish Just Revealed She Doesn’t Know Who Hilary Duff Is, So Prepare To Feel Ancient

by Jake Viswanath
Ari Perilstein/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

It seems that Billie Eilish’s main mission in life, other than creating fantastic music, is making millennials who are still young feel very old and out-of-touch. Aside from the fact that she’s making music that shows she’s wise beyond her years and breaking records that most millennials could never even touch at only 17 years old, Billie Eilish doesn’t know who Hilary Duff is, apparently. No, she doesn’t know what Lizzie McGuire is either, nor does she know anything Duff’s lengthy film career or beloved hits like “Come Clean” and “With Love”. What has the world come to?

Eilish made the shocking confession during an interview with YouTube host Nardwuar in Vancouver, when he presented her with a series of blast-from-the-past items that would make anyone feel nostalgic. His first gift, a 1968 miniature yellow submarine with tiny doll replicas of The Beatles attached, went down well with the singer, who said she loves the group. She also loved a vintage 101 Dalmations vinyl with Cruella de Vil, who she called a “f*cking star."

But Eilish was confused with another gift, an old Lizzie McGuire sleeping bag that left her totally stumped. “So, 'Who is Hilary Duff? is the real question,” she remarked, and the Internet was immediately shocked. As the host tried to explain that Duff was from the famous TV show, she responded, “Who is Lizzie McGuire?” The audacity!

Lizzie McGuire, as you know, lives on as one of the most famous shows that the Disney Channel has ever produced, connecting to young girls and boys growing up in the early 2000s through Lizzie and her friends’ relatable conflicts, teenage anxieties, and amusing antics (plus, who doesn’t want an animated alter-ego that says what you’re really thinking?).

Most importantly, it spawned the career of Duff, who has gone on to have an enduring career in music, film, and TV. She most recently starred as late actor Sharon Tate in The Haunting of Sharon Tate and currently stars in Younger, the TV Land hit show that is about to premiere its sixth season. Duff’s longevity holds no bounds. There’s no sign of when she will return to music, but after spawning four iconic studio albums and amassing cult classic hits like “So Yesterday”, the world can keep waiting — she’s earned the right to take her time.

While it may be shocking for some to find out that Eilish isn’t aware of Duff’s existence, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise considering that she thought the Spice Girls were a fictional band made for their 1997 film Spice World. “I remember seeing Spice Girls [were coming back] and I was like, ‘Oh my god, they’re re-enacting the movie,’ because I thought it like was a fictional movie about some girls called the Spice Girls," she said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in early April.

Eilish would have been a mere infant when Lizzie McGuire aired from 2001 to 2004, and really, how would she have the time to go back and rewatch episodes? The burgeoning superstar already has a lot on her plate, including a headlining tour to promote her superb debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which just hit number one on the Billboard 200 for a third week. Hilary Duff may be a millenial icon, but Gen Z is ensuring that Eilish will have just as long of a career.