Billie Eilish has defended her right to grieve XXXTentacion, claiming that she ‘doesn’t deserve hate’ for her love for the rapper.

In June 2018, the controversial rapper whose real name was Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was shot and died in Florida. He was 20 years old at the time.

Onfroy has previously been charged with domestic abuse, including aggravated assault on a pregnant lady.

He had pled not guilty to the charges, which were withdrawn after his death; nonetheless, XXXTentacion acknowledged to a number of violent acts, including the stabbing of eight individuals, in a video released in October by the Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office.

When Eilish made their friendship public after he was killed last July (18), feminists and women’s rights activists criticized her.

Eilish discussed the aftermath of his death in a recent interview with the New York Times. “I want to be able to mourn, I don’t want to be shamed for it,” she explained. “I don’t think I deserve getting hate for loving someone that passed.”

Billie claimed at the time that XXXTentacion was “the strongest human I’ve ever known” and that the news of his passing was “so painful” in an Instagram tribute.

The singer of Bury A Friend was previously chastised for paying tribute to Onfroy at a concert months after his death.

Billie characterized 6.18.18 – named after the rapper’s death date – as “about a very powerful person made me feel okay when nothing else did,” according to reports.

‘No matter what was going on in his life, he was always there for me,’ Billie added after playing XXXTentacion’s song Look At Me.

Bhad Bhabie also claimed in a recent Billboard red carpet interview that she and Billie Eilish connected over their sadness over XXXTentacion’s death.

“Unfortunately, the first day we met was the day X had passed […] We just sat and listened to his music and cried,” Bhad Bhabie explained.

Meanwhile, Billie recently spoke with NME about how she created the bizarre video for ‘When The Party’s Over.’ She claimed that it was inspired by a fan’s painting of her eyes, which were dark with black ink trickling down from them.

“I just stared at it and I feel like I got star-struck by this image, this drawing of me,” Eilish recalled. “The glass of, like, black shit was Xanthan gum mixed with charcoal water, but for that thickness. But I still had to take maybe like four swallows. Oh my god, it was such a long fucking day, but it turned out so perfect.”

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO, Billie’s debut album, is expected to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 200 this week.