Netizens accuse Taylor Swift of fatphobia in new 'Anti-Hero' music video
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's music video for the song 'Anti-Hero', which released across platforms on Friday, is grabbing people's attention for not-so-right reasons. Many users have pointed out the ‘subtle fatphobia’ in one of the scenes in the five-minute-long music video. In the controversial scene, Swift is seen stepping on a weighing scale which instead of showing her weight shows the word “Fat”.
Many netizens took to Twitter to share their views on the controversial scene and shared how they think such videos internalise fatphobia. They argued that eating disorders stem from socially mandated norms which usually dictate that having a few extra kilos equals to being unattractive.
A user wrote, "As an actual fat person genuinely how are we supposed to feel seeing this? watching a thin person remind the whole world that one of their biggest fears is being fat. is looking like me. demonizing the word fat while never having the experience of living in a fat body? Fatphobic. (sic)"
In Swift's defence, a fan commented, "Taylor at no point said being a certain size was bad. She didn’t say being fat was a problem. She literally said that she views herself as bigger than she clearly is due to her body dysmorphia. Regardless of what that scale said she would always see herself as fat. (sic)"
Meanwhile, Swift took to Twitter on Saturday and reacted to her 10th album ‘Midnights’ breaking a major record on a streaming platform in less than 24 hours of its release. As Spotify announced that Swift’s LP is officially the most-streamed album in a single day in the platform’s history, the singer expressed gratitude in a Twitter post.
Retweeting Spotify's post, Swift wrote, “How did I get this lucky, having you guys out here doing something this mind-blowing?! Like what even just happened??!?! (sic)”
To congratulate the singer, a fan wrote, "This is the most deserved achievement ever, we all need to take a minute to thank you @taylorswift13, for everything you have given us in the past few years… just thank you!" Another wrote, "We can’t thank you enough for giving us one of your best albums ever!!" And, one user commented, "As always said, it’s Taylor’s world and we’re just living in it."
Swift’s 13-track album was accompanied by a ‘3 am Edition’ that was released just a few hours later, making a total of 20 songs in her studio album.
Swift previously spoke about the record in two paragraphs displayed across a promotional picture posted to social media. “We lie awake in love and fear, in turmoil and in tears. We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t — right this minute — about to make some fateful life-altering mistake," it read.
