Taylor Swift has faced backlash over a scene of her weighing herself in her Anti-Hero music video (Picture: YouTube, Taylor Swift)
Taylor Swift appears to have edited out a controversial scene in her Anti-Hero music video which many branded ‘fatphobic’, but her supporters have said the move was ‘unnecessary’.
Anti-Hero serves as the lead single for Taylor’s brand new album, Midnights, which was released on Friday.
As the visuals were unveiled, the singer explained that the aim of the narrative was to depict ‘nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts’. Notably, it sees Taylor address her real life battle with eating disorders which she has been open about in the past.
The scene in question sees the popstar standing on a set of weighing scales as her inner critic, played by Taylor herself, watches next to her. A close up shot then sees the scales move to read ‘fat’, which is what has caused offence.
Now, the YouTube and Apple Music versions of the music video appear to have been edited to remove the controversial moment and no longer cuts to the word ‘fat’.
The edit has divided Taylor’s fans and critics, with some arguing it was the right move considering the upset it has caused, while others pointing out that it was a personal moment for the singer to highlight her own struggle with body image.
Applauding the move to edit the video, one tweeted: ‘Taylor changed her ‘Anti-Hero’ music video on apple music and it doesn’t directly show the word [fat] on the scale. so glad she listened to criticism.’
Another agreed: ‘I’m glad Taylor Swift removed the shot of the scale reading “fat.” Yes, it’s about her eating disorder and body dysmorphia, but they’re both rooted in fatphobia. She has a greater responsibility to her audience not to be fatphobic in recovery, because she knows how toxic that is!’
One critic weighed in: ‘Taylor Swift’s Anti Hero is hitting me hard. (I’m glad to see she changed the video.)’
The scene instead cuts to Taylor’s inner critic, played by herself, and doesn’t feature the word ‘fat’ on the scales (Picture: YouTube, Taylor Swift)
However, many others defended Taylor’s right to express her personal turmoil creatively, with one fan arguing: ‘People invalidating her insecurities and struggles is so disgusting i’m so sad she feels safe to share this in a music video and she ends up editing it because she received backlash like what is wrong with people????’
Another supporter wrote: ‘It’s literally about her eating disorder that she’s not exactly quiet about struggling with. people need to stop projecting their insecurities onto her it’s not fair. this is so heartbreaking.’
One other stated: ‘People who are labeling her as a “fatphobic” definitely failed to understand the meaning of that scene that scene shouldn’t be removed.’
Swift has been open about her eating disorders and body image issues in the past (Picture: Rex Features)
Taylor opened up about her body image issues after the premiere of her Netflix documentary Miss Americana in 2020.
The Shake It Off hitmaker explained to Variety: ‘I didn’t know if I was going to feel comfortable with talking about body image and talking about the stuff I’ve gone through in terms of how unhealthy that’s been for me — my relationship with food and all that over the years.’
She added: ‘I’m not as articulate as I should be about this topic because there are so many people who could talk about it in a better way. But all I know is my own experience.
‘And my relationship with food was exactly the same psychology that I applied to everything else in my life: If I was given a pat on the head, I registered that as good. If I was given a punishment, I registered that as bad.’
BEAT
If you suspect you, a family member or friend has an eating disorder, contact Beat on 0808 801 0677 or at [email protected], for information and advice on the best way to get appropriate treatment
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The singer has faced backlash over the scene which showed her weighing herself.