Billie Eilish Actually Gets 'Incredibly Offended' By The Most Common Reaction To Her 'Exhausting' Tourette Syndrome Tics

Billie Eilish is breaking down what it’s been like for her to have Tourette syndrome.

During a new episode of David Letterman’s series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, the singer opened up about her diagnosis. We don’t know if she ever planned to discuss her tics, but after experiencing one during the interview, the Grammy award-winner explained that she would be “happy” to talk about her neurological disorder, sharing:

“I’m very happy to talk about it. If you film me for long enough, you’re gonna see lots of tics.”

That was a surprise to Letterman, who had lots of questions for the pop star as he attempted to learn about her condition.

Billie was first diagnosed with the condition when she was 11 years old. Tourette syndrome typically starts in childhood and is described as a nervous system disorder that causes repetitive physical movements or unwanted sounds, AKA tics. The Happier Than Ever singer explained that she experiences many different physical tics that have just become a part of who she is, saying:

“I never don’t tic at all, because the main tics that I do constantly, all day long, are like, I wiggle my ear back and forth and raise my eyebrow and click my jaw … and flex my arm here and flex this arm, flex these [stomach] muscles. These are things you would never notice if you’re just having a conversation with me, but for me, they’re very exhausting.”

Geez. That does sound tiring!

Unfortunately, the toll isn’t just physical. She’s faced a lot of mockery throughout her life — some of it not even on purpose — for these uncontrollable movements:

“The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny…and I’m always left incredibly offended by that.”

Ugh. That’s awful. She went on to add that she doesn’t always “get” the syndrome, elaborating:

“I really love answering questions about it because it’s very, very interesting, and I am incredibly confused by it. I don’t get it.”

Not to mention teaching everyone about the rare — and more importantly, misunderstood — disorder is a great way to stop the laughter.

Innerestingly, her tics tend to subside when she’s doing what she does best — performing! She explained that when she is focused on something and moving around (like singing a song or even horseback riding), she doesn’t experience as many tics, adding:

“When I’m moving around, I’m not even ticcing at all.”

Wow!

While the 20-year-old has been open about her experience with the syndrome, she’s also heard from a few other artists who haven’t been so public about it, she dished:

“What’s funny is so many people have it that you would never know. A couple artists came forward and said, ‘I’ve actually always had Tourette’s,’ and I’m not gonna out them because they don’t wanna talk about it, but that was actually really interesting to me.”

Cool! We’re sure connecting with other artists who understand that part of her life is so helpful! We love that she’s opening up about her experience in hopes of eliminating some of the stigmas around the disorder! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below)!

[Image via Billie Eilish/Instagram.]