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By Jon Jackson
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Taylor Swift on Friday released a video for "Anti-Hero," the first single off her new album Midnights. The video quickly stirred controversy due to a scene in which the singer stands on a scale that reads "fat."
Many people on social media have accused the singer of fatphobia. The backlash has also resulted in other voices coming to her defense, many of whom cite Swift's past struggles with an eating disorder.
In 2020's Netflix documentary on her career, Miss Americana, Swift openly discussed how the media and entertainment industry led her to have an unhealthy relationship with her body. She spoke of exercising a great deal while not eating enough for a period of her life, and she has since embraced a healthier lifestyle.
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Some critics of the "Anti-Hero" video have said that due to her past issues, Swift should have known better than to use the word "fat" in the video.
Dr. Asher Larmie, who describes themself in their Twitter bio as a "weight inclusive" former general practitioner and the "founder of #NoWeigh campaign against weight stigma & fat oppression," tweeted a series of messages about "Anti-Hero" over the weekend.
"NOT ALL EDs [eating disorders] ARE ROOTED IN FATPHOBIA. But @taylorswift13 is. Which is why the scales read FAT. And anyone who feels 'seen' or 'understood' by that video also has fatphobia (Which is why I maintain that the scales either shouldn't have read anything or something other than fat)," Larmie, who is non-binary, wrote in one message.
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"Shocking that no one involved in the making of Taylor Swift's music video realised how harmful it is to use the word 'FAT' on a weighing scale to illustrate her battle with an ED. Just thinking about the impact on her young fans of all body sizes #fatphobia," Dr. Charlotte Ord, a psychologist who frequently writes about body image, tweeted.
People outside the medical world also took issue with Swift's video. One person wrote, "Taylor Swift's music video, where she looks down at the scale where it says 'fat,' is a s**tty way to describe her body image struggles. Fat people don't need to have it reiterated yet again that it's everyone's worst nightmare to look like us."
"It is possible to appreciate Taylor Swift and midnight [sic] as an artist AND call her out on her blatant fatphobia. Taylor Swift should have done better because even if it is relatable and an 'intrusive thought' it is damaging and fatphobic. Listen to fat ppl when they tell you it is," read another tweet.
Along with a wave of negative comments, many Twitter users came to Swift's defense, including people who say they have larger body types.
"To be clear, I don't think Taylor Swift looking at a scale and worrying about being fat in a music video means she's endorsing fatphobia I think she's making a point about how f**king awful eating disorders are," writer Jaya Rajamani tweeted.
She continued, "Yes, the thin person's biggest fear *is* looking like us. I don't think that's on the thin person, necessarily. I think it's on society, sorry. I don't think TS [Taylor Swift] or most people who have disordered eating WANT to be chained up by the mental scale and by the fear of weight gain."
"My unpopular opinion—as a fat person who dedicates their work to dismantling fatphobia—is that this [the 'Anti-Hero' video] is an accurate representation of how eating disorders impact many, and shows how stigmatized the word 'fat' still is. Society still uses it as a weapon against the most vulnerable," Gianluca Russo, author of The Power of Plus: Inside Fashion's Size-Inclusivity Revolution, wrote.
One Twitter user defended the message conveyed in Swift's video while also making a broader point about the nature of art.
Mr Beard, a comedy podcaster, said, "I don't think she's saying that it's bad to be fat. I think she's saying that it's bad that society tells us that it's bad to be fat, and that she feels ashamed that she has allowed society to make her feel this way about herself."
Mr Beard continued, "If we sanitize art to the point where artists can't reveal the negative aspects of themselves that they're trying to change, I think that can end up preventing a lot of very important conversations from happening."
Newsweek reached out to Swift for comment.
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