A video that appeared to be promoting the the pop star Billie Eilish‘s new record Hit Me Hard and Soft that went viral over the week was appears have been a fake.
The video shows the I. M. Pei-designed glass-and-metal pyramid outside of the Louvre suddenly flooded with deep blue water. A white door appears near the apex of the structure and Eilish, dressed in a fashionable baggy black outfit and sporting dark hair, falls into the depths of the pyramid-cum-pool. Then the words Billie Eilish, in bold white block capital letters float up from the ground, followed by the name of the record. In the foreground, visitors gasp and cheer. Or did they?
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The video, which was posted by the pop culture site @PopCrave, has been viewed 1.5 million times on X (formerly called Twitter). However, it turns out that the projection was never actually shown at the Louvre. After the video gained traction, with X users commenting that the singer’s PR team “ate this up”, the social media site added a context note saying “This is a digitally altered video [was] originally posted by French videographer, @natoogram, on Instagram.”
A Rolling Stone review called the new album “more playful, and more pissed, and as brilliant as ever,” while Vulture called the album’s second track, Lunch, a “a spice queer anthem.” (Eilish came out as queer last year during an interview for Variety’s “Power of Women” issue.)
Perhaps @natoogram was inspired by the adverts for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album earlier this year? The marketing campaign was projected on museums in New York City, including the Guggenheim, the Whitney, and the New Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design. The rotunda of the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Guggenheim displayed the projected phrases: “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” ahead of its March 29 release.
@natoogram, who’s real name is Nathalie Odzierejko, did not immediately answer a request for comment on the creation of the video.