Wokeness Forces Taylor Swift Video Edit

Taylor Swift has updated her new music video following backlash and debate surrounding her use of the word “fat.”

Bloomberg reports fans of the singer noticed the change in the video for the song “Anti-Hero” that is uploaded to Apple Music. A previous version of the video featured Swift stepping onto a scale that read “fat” while an evil version of the singer points and laughs. Now, the video shows Swift stepping on the scale, but the word doesn’t appear.

The change comes days after Swift released her latest album “Midnights” to widespread anticipation. Debate surrounding the scene reached a fever pitch online: Some listeners argued the singer was engaging in fatphobia because the way the word was used was coded as being bad or something to fear. Others said the video itself was a critique of anti-fat bias. Swift discussed her history with body image and eating disorder in the 2020 Netflix documentary “Miss Americana,” and fans suggested that those experiences may have influenced what she described as her “nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts” on Twitter.

Taylor Swift

Gianluca Russo, the author of “The Power of Plus: Inside Fashion's Size-Inclusivity Revolution” said the clip was bound to be controversial because of the myriad ways people can interpret the scene.

“People within the fat activist community are actively working on removing the stigma around that word and returning fat to what it is — a thing that our bodies have,” said Russo. “But I think we also need to recognize that society has put so much emphasis on fat being bad for decades, and that while many people have been able to destigmatize the word for themselves on a personal level, many others have not.”

More than 40% of people in the US across a variety of body sizes reported being subjected to some kind of weight stigma throughout their lives, according to a 2021 study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. That stigma can lead to a variety of health issues, including disordered eating.

“Midnights” has sold more than 1.2 million units in its first three days of release, according to data tracker Luminate, making it the first album with over 1 million sales in five years. The “Anti-Hero” video has been viewed over 33 million times on YouTube alone.

Swift joins Lizzo and Beyonce in amending musical work shortly after releasing it this year. Both singers rerecorded new songs that previously contained ableist slurs.