Billie Eilish's brother Finneas defends her 10-year age gap with boyfriend Jesse Rutherford: 'I want my sister to be happy and safe'
Dimitrios Kambouris / Staff / Getty Images / MICHAEL TRAN / AFP via Getty Images
- Finneas defended Billie Eilish's relationship with a man 10 years older than her.
- He said on TikTok that his younger sister is "perfectly entitled to make her own life decisions."
- Eilish's relationship with singer Jesse Rutherford, 31, has been criticized online.
Finneas defended his sister Billie Eilish on social media for dating someone 10 years older than her.
In October, Eilish and The Neighbourhood vocalist Jesse Rutherford were spotted having dinner together, prompting dating rumors. They confirmed their relationship in early November when they made their red carpet debut together.
However, fans have been critical of the age gap between the pair since Rutherford is 31 while Eilish just turned 21. In addition, Eilish was 15 when she first met Rutherford in 2017.
A fan commented on the age gap on Finneas' recent TikTok video.
According to People, the person wrote: "Your sister's dating a 31 year old man and your music is shitty."
Finneas responded: "I want my sister to be happy and safe and she is a 21 year old adult perfectly entitled to make her own life decisions."
While Eilish herself hasn't directly responded to the age gap criticism, many fans thought she was mocking the backlash with her Halloween costume earlier this year after sharing a picture of herself wearing a baby costume while Rutherford was dressed as a balding old man.
In October, the seven-time Grammy winner spoke about her new relationship publicly for the first time during her sixth annual Vanity Fair "time capsule" video.
When asked if she has a boyfriend, Eilish replied: "Yeah, I do. And it's really cool and I'm really excited and I'm really happy about it."
Eilish continued: "I managed to get my way to a point in my life, my life to a point, where I not only was known by a person that I thought was the hottest fucking fucker alive, but pulled his ass. Are you kidding me? Can we just, round of applause for me?"
After Eilish took a moment to bow, she added, "Jesse Rutherford, everyone. I pulled his ass. All me. I did that shit. I locked that motherfucker down."