Billie Eilish Admits She Doesn't Know Who Van Halen Is

On November 22nd, singer Billie Eilish was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where she played a trivia game with Kimmel, who listed a bunch of objects and famous people that were popular before she was born. After Eilish confirmed that she did in fact know who Madonna is, she was asked about Van Halen, and her response of "WHO?" pretty much lit the internet on fire. After the clip went viral, many took to Twitter to mock the 17-year old for not knowing the band.

Billie Eilish didn't know who Van Halen was, I'm sobbing. pic.twitter.com/tX6xrs7cIE

— Mack (@_Kenziepuff) November 29, 2019

 
Some tweeted out their feelings, despite their fears that they might be sounding too much like a Boomer.

Not to sound too get off my lawn but Billie Eilish should know who Van Halen is even if she’s only seventeen.

— David Kuhne (@D_Khunne) December 2, 2019

 
Some were scared that members of the band were trending because they had passed.

Saw Van Halen and David Lee Roth trending, and I got worried. Then I realized it's only because Billie Eilish says she doesn't know who they are. I only have one question: Who the fuck is Billie Eilish? pic.twitter.com/Mzzv9lPQdw

— B.K. Bass (@B_K_Bass) December 3, 2019

 
According to them, how could a musician that claims to love older sounds not know the band?

my unpopular opinion is that it IS kind of wild that billie eilish doesn’t know van halen. she’s a musician and she’s said she was raised on older stuff, so you’d expect that she’d recognize the name. she shouldn’t be hounded over it, but i can imagine why people would be shocked

— bella 🎸🍒⚡️ (@bellasavignano) December 2, 2019

 
Several were just happy to see their favorite band get attention in 2019.

100% here for all this Van Halen content on twitter today. Also, who is Billie Eilish? (Don’t answer that; I really don’t care.) pic.twitter.com/mC5KlOUtVv

— Jill Blake (@biscuitkitten) December 2, 2019

 
To them, this was a big deciding factor if they should like Billie Eilish or not.

Billie Eilish: “I don’t know who Van Halen is.”Me: pic.twitter.com/npJebnKuqQ

— Rob – Ro2R 🕎 (@Ruleof2Review) December 2, 2019

 

Twitter also offered some interesting conspiracy theories.

Van Halen and Billie Eilish are on the same record label. She was paid to pretend like she doesn't know who they are to get their name back in the press so that her fans will fuck with VH's music. MARK IT

— Hunter Hurst Helms Alee (@drivelikejesu1) December 2, 2019

 

Billie Eilish totally knows about Van Halen and she and I are sitting here just cackling at how gullible you all are.

— karmelo ianthony (@IanKarmel) December 2, 2019

 

I hate to break it to you but Billie Eilish--who grew up in Hollywood circles and has been groomed for fame for her entire life--is lying about not knowing who Van Halen is

— Connor Wroe Southard (@ConnorSouthard) December 2, 2019

 

And some were downright confused altogether.

he’s that painter who chopped his ear off https://t.co/4q3PLev4qF

— 🎅🏿Imani Gandy Cane🎅🏿 (@AngryBlackLady) December 3, 2019

 

Why is everybody yelling about @billyeichner and Van Helsing?

— 👋just jackie👋 (@jackienumber3) December 3, 2019

 

And then of course came the tweets in defense of Billie Eilish.

Apparently Billie Eilish doesn't know who Van Halen are. It's a long shot, but I wonder if there are any righteous middle-aged men available online to respond to this.

— Van Halen Were Mediocre Mancino-Williams (@Manda_like_wine) December 2, 2019

 
Other musicians weighed in on the conversation.

Y’all just jealous because now billieeilish gets to listen to Van Halen for the first time

— Jason Isbell (JasonIsbell) December 3, 2019

 
Including America's favorite band.

We grew up listening to #VanHalen and we're old as fck so why would billieeilish know who they are? #NoDiss

— Smash Mouth (smashmouth) December 2, 2019

 
Some were even jealous of the singer.

Billie Eilish is so lucky not to know who Van Halen is I wish I could be unburdened in the same way

— Sloppy Jane (@sloppyjanemusic) December 2, 2019

 
Memes were used to emphasize the age gap that was causing the rift.

everyone over 40 on twitter today complaining about billie eilish and van halen pic.twitter.com/GbBMBcZMnz

— guy fieri 2020 campaign manager (@libbycwatson) December 3, 2019

 
This debacle even called attention to other mysteries that needed to be solved.

Billie Eilish died in a boarding school in 1764 and has been a ghost ever since so it IS odd she hasn’t heard of Van Halen before

— Ira Madison III (@ira) December 2, 2019

 
Luckily the whole 'feud" was seemingly put to rest after Eddie Van Halen's son tweeted out his support for Eilish.

If you haven’t heard of billieeilish, go check her out. She’s cool. If you haven’t heard of VanHalen, go check them out. They’re cool too.Music is supposed to bring us together, not divide us. Listen to what you want and don’t shame others for not knowing what you like.

— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) December 2, 2019