In an attempt to make light of their large age difference, Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford have recently faced backlash over their tasteless attempt at a Halloween costume.

Fans were already skeptical of their relationship which came into the media light last month, and for good reason. Rutherford, the lead singer from the band The Neighbourhood, is 11 years Eilish’s elder. Rutherford is 31 while Eilish is only 20, and with that big of an age gap, it’s quite obvious why people are concerned.

To put it in perspective, Eilish would have been 12 when The Neighbourhood released their first album back in 2013.

For Halloween this year, the couple decided to make an attempt at a cute couple costume. Unfortunately, the costume wasn’t cute at all, it was actually creepy. With Rutherford dressed up as an old man and Eilish dressed up as a baby, it was an odd and unsuccessful attempt at mocking their age difference.

This costume was in poor taste, and by deciding to poke fun at their large age gap, it goes to show that the couple does have awareness of it. They know it’s weird, but they simply don’t care.

While, at 20 years old, Eilish is a legal adult perfectly capable of making her own decisions, there is still a certain level of concern that should be raised over this relationship. At 20 and 31 you are at two completely different stages of life, and I can’t begin to wonder why a 31-year-old would want anything to do with someone who recently graduated high school. Eilish is just freshly out of teenagerhood, can’t even legally drink yet, while Rutherford has been out of it for over a decade. To be simply put, Eilish is too young for Rutherford. 

The age gap itself is already something to be skeptical of, but another problem comes as a picture recently surfaced of Eilish and Rutherford together when Eilish was only 15. The picture raises the question of how this relationship came to be, and exactly how long they have known each other.

In an interview with NME, Eilish claimed that The Neighbourhood is the first concert that she ever went to, which raises another concern about the power dynamic. Eilish has talked about idolizing Rutherford ever since that first concert, which if true, would feed into a disgusting power imbalance. Being 31 and dating someone you know you have a large amount of power over is weird. I’d say that Rutherford should know better, but I figure that he does know better, and is dating Eilish anyways. 

Over legal age or not, Eilish should not be with a man who is 11 years older than her. There is a time and a place to be with someone 11 years your elder, and that time is not right when you turn 20. The brain doesn’t fully develop until 25, and while Eilish may not know any better at her age, Rutherford should.