Taylor Swift’s New Video Was Just Censored
Taylor Swift recently released a music video for Anti-Hero, and a part where she steps on a scale that reads "fat" has been edited out of on Apple Music.
Taylor Swift is currently basking in the success of her tenth studio album, Midnights, which was released on October 21st and has broken various records, including the most-streamed album in a single day on Spotify. The album is also the fastest selling of 2022 in the United States, and it features the lead single “Anti-Hero”. The official music video for the track was uploaded to YouTube and Apple Music the same day that Swift’s latest album was released, but according to Variety, the version of the video available on Apple’s platform has been censored following criticism from viewers and edited to remove a scene that shows Taylor Swift stepping on a bathroom scale that reads “fat.”
The outlet has confirmed that the music video for “Anti-Hero” on Apple Music has been edited. There’s speculation that the platform censored the video following online debates over the moment, with some viewers criticizing the meaning behind the scene, labeling it as fatphobic. For the time being, the version of the video currently on YouTube has been unaltered.
Taylor Swift has discussed her battle with an eating disorder on numerous occasions, and most thoroughly in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana. The Grammy-winning singer used the feature to discuss various triggers that caused her to practically starve herself. More recently, while promoting the release of the music video for “Anti-Hero,” Swift took to Instagram to reflect on her past struggles with her bodily image to her 229 million followers.
In the grand scheme of things, a minor edit to her music video is nothing in comparison to some of the other controversies Taylor Swift has been wrapped up in over the course of her career as a musician. She’s had a back-and-forth feud with Kanye West spanning over a decade, but fortunately for Swift, that seems to have been put on the backburner for the time being amid all the controversy the Power rapper has brought upon himself recently. At this point, West, also known as Ye, has been pretty much canceled after the Creative Artist Agency (CAA) stopped representing him, and Adidas recently ended a major partnership with the celebrity following several antisemitic remarks.
Her petty feuds aside, Taylor Swift has found herself at the center of more serious issues, mainly lawsuits where the singer has been accused of plagiarism. In August 2022, she was sued for more than $1 million by a woman named Teresa La Dart, who claimed Swift copied 2010 poetry book Lover when creating the booklet that accompanied her 2019 album, also called Lover. Additionally, the You Need to Calm Down singer was the subject of a lawsuit filed by the songwriters behind 3LW’s hit track Playas Gon’ Play, where a judge ruled Swift would have to face a jury trial despite her requests to dismiss the case.
Anyone who has achieved the level of star power that Taylor Swift has is bound to get entangled in some controversy here and there. Fortunately, the 11-time Grammy Award-winning musician has always been able to overcome any career roadblocks she’s faced, and we fully expect her to rise above this latest one relating to her official video for Anti-Hero as well. Of course, it’s likely only a matter of time before Swift finds herself wrapped up in another controversy, but for now, we’re hoping she’s in the clear.
