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Billie Eilish is PETA’s 2021 ‘Person Of The Year’

Eilish is vegan and a vocal supporter of animal rights

By Charlotte Krol

Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish on stage for Global Citizen Concert 2021 NYC (Picture: Alamy)

Billie Eilish has been named PETA’s ‘Person of the Year’ for 2021, becoming the animal welfare non-profit’s youngest ever recipient.

The pop star, 19, who is vegan and has been a vocal supporter of animal rights, follows previous entertainment figures for the award including as Brian May, Morrissey and Joaquin Phoenix.

PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement, using puns relating to Eilish‘s lyrics and song titles: “Billie Eilish is making sure that the party’s over for meaty, milky meals as well as for leather, fur, and silk.

“PETA is happier than ever to celebrate her for seizing every opportunity to point out that vegan fashion and foods are kinder to the animals and the planet we share with them.”

Earlier this year Eilish convinced designer Oscar de la Renta to go fur-free after he made her dress for the Meta Gala 2021. “That was a really really big thing for me, and I hope that more brands follow,” she told Vanity Fair.

The 2021 Met Gala also served exclusively vegan meals for the first time.

Eilish has ensured that her own products help her promote her veganism stance. Earlier this year she launched her own “100% vegan” Nike sneakers and more recently announced a perfume called ‘Eilish’ that contains no animal-derived ingredients and isn’t tested on animals.

Elsewhere, the pop singer recently urged fans to opt for a meat-free Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. “Turkeys are some of the most gentle creatures in the world,” she said in an interview with British Vogue.

“I learned about the dairy industry and the meat industry… I just can’t go on in my life knowing what’s going on in the animal world and not doing anything about it.”

In other Eilish news, she and her brother/songwriting partner Finneas have written new music for the upcoming Disney Pixar movie ‘Turning Red’.

They were approached by the makers of the film to write songs for the fictional boyband 4*Town that protagonist Meilin “Mei” Lee and her friends are obsessed with in the film.

Eilish and Finneas have penned three of the band’s songs, with the first of them, ‘Nobody Like U’, featuring in the opening seconds of the trailer. The film is set for release on March 11, 2022.