Finneas Weighs In On Sister Billie Eilish's Controversial Age-Gap Relationship
Everyone online seems to have an opinion about Billie Eilish's relationship with The Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford, but her brother, Finneas O'Connell, is sticking up for his little sister. Besides being siblings, O'Connell and the "Bad Guy" singer are thick as thieves, with him serving as the producer and co-writer for her albums and many of her biggest hits. Amidst her explosively successful career, O'Connell expressed that he is "as protective as he can" over Eilish to "make sure nobody is being a creep," according to The Sunday Times (via Express).
When Eilish, 21, went public with her relationship with Rutherford, 31, fans weren't happy about the singer's cheeky nod to their age gap. But Eilish — during her yearly interview with Vanity Fair — insisted she is truly happier than ever with the "Sweater Weather" singer. "It's really cool and I'm really excited and I'm really happy about it," she gushed.
Nevertheless, fans continue to be skeptical of the nature of Eilish and Rutherford's relationship. And recently, O'Connell came to his sister's defense against the online haters.
Finneas claps back at the haters, saying Billie is an 'adult'
Singer-songwriter Finneas O'Connell is an active user of TikTok, and it looks like he's seen the internet's reactions to his sister's older boyfriend. On December 26, a TikToker responded to one of O'Connell's videos — in which he criticized the trend of tricking people into believing a beloved celebrity has died — by saying, "Oh yeah? Well, your sister's dating a 31-year-old man and your music is s****y."
Surprisingly, O'Connell turned up in the comments section of the user's video to defend Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford's romance. "I want my sister to be happy and safe," he replied. "And she is a 21 year old adult perfectly entitled to make her own life decisions."
O'Connell made it clear he is in full support of his sister regardless of the opinions social media users may hold about his sister dating someone 10 years her senior. Despite the fallout on social media, Eilish and Rutherford are still going strong, with the two lovebirds recently celebrating the hitmaker's 21st birthday. Page Six notes that the two dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus to mark the occasion. Unbothered!