The decision follows criticism that one moment in the music video for Anti-Hero was “fatphobic.”
One of Taylor Swift’s music videos has had the term “fat” removed.
The original music video for Anti-Hero had a pop singer getting onto a bathroom scale before the dial spins to reveal the word.
In the modified version on YouTube and Apple Music, Swift only receives a disapproving glance from a side-by-side double.
After numerous fans and prominent figures criticized the original sequence, claiming it promoted “fatphobia,” the scene was altered.
Catherine Mhloyi, a writer for Teen Vogue, stated, “By having the word ‘fat’ show on the scale, she chose to name her demon, the fear of being branded fat, which is fatphobia in its most literal sense.”
US therapist for eating disorders Shira Rose stated: “It is unnecessary to remind obese folks that it is everyone’s biggest fear to resemble us.
“An eating disorder does not justify fatphobia.
“It’s not difficult to say, ‘I’m dealing with my body image today as opposed to ‘I’m a fat, repulsive pig’.”
Not everyone agreed, though, as Whoopi Goldberg stated on her panel show The View: “Just let her have her feelings. If you dislike the music, you should not listen to it.”
Swift has previously described her written and produced music video as having “nightmare situations and intrusive thoughts playing out in real-time.”
Early in 2020, Swift disclosed she has struggled with an eating disorder and would “starve” herself if she felt her stomach was too large.
She told Variety that a headline stating that she appeared pregnant caused her to quit eating.
Swift’s new album Midnights, which was released last week, broke the Spotify record for the most-streamed album in a single day with the track Anti-Hero.
She has described the album as “13 sleepless nights spread throughout my life” and “a voyage between terrors and pleasant dreams.”
