Taylor Swift adjusts music video after accusations of ‘obesity phobia’ | Taylor Swift

.’s video Taylor SwiftAnti-Hero, the title track from her new album midnightIt was changed days after its initial release to remove the word “fat” from one of its scenes.

In the original clip, directed by Swift, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter steps on a bathroom scale that spins its disc with “Fat” reading. In the new version of the clip, which can be viewed below, Swift takes to the scale, and receives a dismissive look from someone who also plays Swift, but no reading is shown.

The edit came after some fans and commentators criticized the Libra scene for perpetuating an “obesity phobia.” On Twitter, eating disorder therapist and body positivity blogger Shera Rosenbluth said: The clip “repeated again that it’s everyone’s worst nightmare to be like us,” while Teen Vogue writer Catherine Mahloi Scene description As “lazy”: “When the word ‘fat’ appeared on the scale, she chose to name her demon explicitly, fearing to be called ‘fat’, which is a phobia of fat in its most literal sense.”

Other commentators, including Whoopi GoldbergSwift’s defense. “Just let her feel her feelings – if you don’t like the song, don’t listen to it,” she said on The View. “Why are you wasting your time on this? You always want to say something about Taylor Swift – leave her ass alone.” “What are you supposed to put on the scale,” Joy Behar added. It does not work. “

Swift herself has been open about her struggles with an eating disorder. In her 2020 documentary on Netflix Miss Americana, the musician discusses the way media scrutiny of her body has caused her to “starve” herself at points in her life. She said the Anti-Hero video, in an Instagram post upon release, represented “nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts”.

The Guardian has contacted Swift representatives for comment.