Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford are facing criticism on social media, after photos emerged of them dressed as a baby and an elderly man, amid criticism of their 10-year age gap.
In mid October, reports emerged that the singers had embarked on a romance, after several outlets published photos of Eilish sharing a kiss with the Neighbourhood frontman during an outing in the Studio City area of Los Angeles.
Eilish, 20, and Rutherford, 31, were photographed on a sidewalk after dining at local Indian restaurant Lal Mirch, according to People magazine.
The two were also spotted dining together at Los Angeles' Crossroads Kitchen on October 13.
The following day, they were seen together at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights, an annual Halloween-themed event, in Los Angeles.
A fan spotted them and shared a TikTok video of the couple holding hands.
While both stars have yet to publicly comment on the nature of their relationship, fans have been discussing their age gap. Rutherford turned 31 in August, while Eilish will turn 21 in December.
On Sunday, Pop Crave shared separate photos of Eilish and Rutherford dressed as a baby an elderly man during Halloween festivities, in what appeared to be a nod to the attention paid to their age difference.
Billie Eilish and boyfriend Jesse Rutherford dressed up together as a baby and an old man for Halloween. pic.twitter.com/6zLT9Z48Ho
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 31, 2022
"Billie is grown enough to know how weird and creepy this is," wrote one detractor in reaction to the viral Twitter post.
Another said that they felt "so sad" for Eilish, explaining that the singer "thinks she's being big and bad and grown up trolling the haters, but she's just showing her immaturity and proving the point."
"I cannot believe instead of Jesse Rutherford dating a 20 [year] old and just SHUTTING THE F*** UP him and Billie dressed as a baby and old man... I am at a loss," commented another.
"Billie Eilish and Jessie Rutherford's matching Halloween costumes [are] incredibly sick and twisted," tweeted another, "especially with their age difference and power imbalance. It's not funny or chic, its not poking fun, it's disturbing."
Eilish was previously in a relationship with rapper Q, whose real name is Brandon Adams. She is also rumored to have dated actor Matthew Tyler Vorce from late 2021 through May 2022, according to People.
Rutherford dated model and entrepreneur Devon Lee Carlson from 2015 to 2021. They were dubbed "2019's most 2019 couple" by GQ. A year later, they worked with Marc Jacobs to design a special-edition Valentine's Day T-shirt.
Carlson, who is the co-founder of Wildflower Cases, an iPhone accessories company, confirmed the couple had split in an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast. She told host Alexandra Cooper in September, "We had the most mutual breakup ever."
Newsweek reached out to representatives for Eilish and Rutherford for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
