Van Halen’s Bassist Had An Understanding Response To Billie Eilish Not Knowing The Band

Nearly two weeks ago, Billie Eilish was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and at one point during the conversation, Kimmel thought it would be fun to highlight the age difference between his guest and himself: Eilish turns 18 in a couple weeks, while Kimmel recently celebrated his 52nd birthday (with some lackluster help from Maren Morris). So, Kimmel asked some questions about pop culture from his era, and Eilish did not fare well.

At the end of the round of trivia, Eilish laughed and said, “You’re making me look so dumb,” to which Kimmel responded, “It’s not a matter of being dumb. If you asked me questions about 1943, I probably wouldn’t know the answers either.” That’s the correct takeaway to be had from the segment, but the internet didn’t feel the same way over the past couple days. While some people were more in line with Kimmel’s train of thought, others criticized Eilish (who, again, is 17 years old) for not knowing Van Halen, a band that formed nearly 50 years ago.

As for Van Halen, it looks like they’re cool with Eilish not knowing who they are. Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of Eddie Van Halen who has been with the band since 2007, took to Twitter to offer a response to the Eilish controversy. His take on the matter is that Eilish should not be shamed for not being aware of the band, writing, “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.”

Eilish has yet to offer a response to the situation, but really, she shouldn’t have to, since this story should have ended with Eilish and Kimmel having a quick laugh about it a couple weeks ago.