For some reason, the fact that Billie Eilish didn’t know what the band Van Halen was became a big deal over the past few days. A couple weeks ago, the 17-year-old guested on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and during a brief quiz segment, she revealed that she was not aware of the band, which formed nearly 30 years before she was born, and whose most successful single, “Jump,” is about twice as old as she is. This situation drew a bunch of reactions, and now Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has weighed in.
She was a guest on The Tonight Show yesterday, and during her appearance, she and Jimmy Fallon played a game called “Curveball Questions,” in which Fallon asked her a series of relevant rapid-fire questions, with some more offbeat queries mixed in. For the final question of the game, Fallon referenced the Eilish ordeal by asking, “Do you know who Van Halen is?” To that, Warren responded, “Yes, but you don’t have to. Let’s ease up on Billie.”
The band themselves don’t seem bothered that Eilish isn’t their biggest fan. Wolfgang Van Halen showed his support for Eilish and tweeted, “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.”
Watch the “Curveball Questions” segment above.
