How A Scene From ‘The Office’ Made Billie Eilish Incorrectly Think That The Irish Band U2 Was From Scranton

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• Billie Eilish recently made an appearance on the “Office Ladies” podcast hosted by former Office co-stars Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer.
• Eilish began watching “The Office” at a young age and didn’t fully understand the jokes.
• She thought that the Irish band U2 was from Scranton, Pennsylvania because of a scene on the show.

In a January 2023 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Billie Eilish revealed that thought the band U2 was from Scranton, Pennsylvania. The 21-year-old pop star attributed the misunderstanding to her young age when she first started watching the popular NBC TV show, The Office. Eilish explained that she was so young that she believed many of the jokes and references were real, including those about U2 being from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

On the podcast, Eilish told Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer, “Starting to watch The Office at a really young age, I almost didn’t understand any reference whatsoever. There’s so many things that are said, especially by Michael, in The Office that he says wrong on purpose, were written on purpose that, I didn’t even know the real word. So I said many words wrong because I learned them from Michael Scott.”

Why Billie Eilish Thought U2 Was From Scranton

Billie Eilish said that the worst instance of her believing a joke on “The Office” to be factual happened a few months ago, involving U2. The legendary rock band is made up of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.

“Last June, we were in Ireland. I’m in my hotel and I get flowers delivered to my room and it has a little letter on it,” she said. “And it’s this really, really sweet letter and it says ‘from Bono.’ And I was like, ‘Why would Bono, who’s from Scranton — ‘ 

“You thought Bono was from Scranton, Pennsylvania?” Kinsey chuckled.

“Yes,” Eilish replied. “I go, ‘Why would he send me something in Ireland? What does this have to do with him?’ And it said, ‘Welcome to my hometown,’ or something like that. But U2 is from Scranton. And I kept asking everyone like, ‘What is Bono doing sending me flowers all the way across the world? Why would he do that?’ And my friends were like, ‘Billie, what are you talking about? They’re Irish.’ I was like, ‘No they’re not.'”

Eilish’s confusion was from a scene between Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) in an episode from season four titled “Goodbye, Toby Part 1”.

In the scene, Michael is creating a mixtape and stupidly asks Jim: “Hey, what’s the group that was from Scranton that made it big? Was that U2?”

With a straight face, Jim replies, “Yes.”

Too young to understand the joke, Eilish though Jim was answering Michael’s ridiculous question honestly. Years later, she still thought U2 was from Scranton until Bono sent her flowers at her hotel in Ireland.

The Enduring Popularity Of The Office

Eilish is an avid fan of “The Office,” and has watched the show from start to finish at least 30 times. She’s not alone. Even though the final episode of The Office aired on May 16, 2013, the show continues to be popular and connect with new fans through streaming services, like Netflix.

NERD NOTE: The Office has been credited with popularizing the city of Scranton, with many tourists visiting the city just to see some of the show’s iconic landmarks.

U2’s Influence On Billie Eilish And Vice-Versa

Despite her initial confusion, Eilish is a huge fan of U2 and has even cited their music as an influence on her own work. The members of U2 are also fans of Eilish.

Bono, the lead singer of U2, has previously credited Eilish’s song “Everything I Wanted” as one of the “songs that saved my life.” Eilish also participated in a tribute video for the band when they received a Kennedy Center Honors lifetime-achievement award.

Would You Make The Same Mistake?

While it may seem strange to some that the pop star didn’t know that U2 is from Ireland, it’s important to remember that she is still very young. It isn’t easy growing up and making silly childhood mistakes while under a magnifying glass in the public eye. The rest of us got to make those mistakes without being famous.