Taylor Swift ‘Anti-Hero’ Music Video’s ‘Fat’ Scale Scene Removed After Controversy
Following the release of Taylor Swift‘s highly personal “Anti-Hero” music video on Friday (Oct. 21), the star received some backlash, with critics accusing the pop star of being “fatphobic” due to a scene in which Swift steps on a scale that reads “fat.”
On Wednesday (Oct. 26), the scene was first removed from the music video on Apple Music, as spotted by some eagle-eyed Swifties on Twitter. Hours later, the YouTube version of the video was also edited.
Swift has yet to publicly comment on the change. Billboard has reached out to Apple Music, Swift’s rep and YouTube for comment.
Swift has previously spoken about her struggles with body image, including in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana. She has also opened up about personal nature of “Anti-Hero,” calling it “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” as she’s never “delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.”
“This song really is a real guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself; we all hate things about ourselves,” she explained in a video released ahead of Midnights‘ arrival.
Following the backlash, the hosts of The View came to Swift’s defense on Tuesday’s (Oct. 25) episode. Sunny Hostin noted of the critics, “They missed the point. For someone who’s an artist, she gets to have agency over her artistry. She was describing a personal experience, and quite frankly, it’s a personal experience a lot of women experience. I’ve experienced it, and men.”
Whoopi Goldberg added, “Why are you wasting your time on this? You all want to say something about Taylor Swift, leave her a– alone!”
Watch the YouTube version of “Anti-Hero” below:
Rania Aniftos
Billboard
