The Linda Lindas Perform ‘Racist, Sexist Boy,’ Discuss Song’s Origin on ‘Kimmel’
The Linda Lindas’ breakthrough continued on Thursday (June 3) when the young, sage punkers who recently made a viral splash with the song “Racist, Sexist Boy” appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to perform the tune and discuss the inspiration behind it.
The Linda Lindas are sisters Mila (10) and Lucia (14), plus their cousin, Eloise (13), and friend Bela (16). Mila plays the drums while Eloise handles bass, and Bela and Lucia play guitar. All four share vocal duties, though Eloise mostly sings lead on “Racist, Sexist Boy.”
Their live performance of the socially aware number at the Los Angeles Public Library last month was a big hit with viewers, and the band has signed a deal with punk outpost Epitaph Records. On Thursday, all this led the group to make their late-night TV debut.
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
“The backstory is that a boy from school told me that his dad told him to stay away from Chinese people,” Mila, the song’s composer, explained to host Jimmy Kimmel of the xenophobic experience that birthed “Racist, Sexist Boy.” “I told him that I was Chinese, and he backed away from me.”
“And there’s also a lot of sexism around boys our age and, unfortunately, a lot of people,” added Eloise, the tune’s co-writer. “So we were really angry and we decided to write a song about it.”
It’s certainly made an impression on at least one rock star. After the brave tween anthem emerged in May, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello called it his song of the day.
“I hope the song empowers people who have been oppressed,” Eloise told The Guardian. “It’s good because I get to scream a lot in it — all of the anger that builds up, it’s good to let it out. It’s really fun to perform.”
After their amazing performance of ‘Racist, Sexist Boy’ at the LA Public Library we couldn’t wait to meet this tween and teen punk band. Jimmy checks in with them backstage during the monologue and they talk about going viral and the meaning behind their now famous song, and later in the show they make their national television debut performing live in our studio!