Not Everyone Finds the ‘Anti-Hero’ Video by Taylor Swift Fatphobic — Here’s Why
Taylor Swift‘s “Anti-Hero” video is making sparks fly, but not in a good way. In the video for the Midnights single, Swift looks down at a scale that reads “FAT.” Now, the Internet takes issue with the scale in Swift’s video, many people calling the artist fatphobic.
However, it’s unlikely Swift’s music video was intentionally fatphobic. Despite the outrage, there are those who found Swift’s video to be a reflection of her personal experiences. Here’s why they’re saying Swift’s video isn’t fatphobic.
Taylor Swift video for ‘Anti-Hero’ sparks outrage
After witnessing the music video for Swift’s first Midnights single, many people took to Twitter to criticize the scale and Swift’s reaction to it. “Taylor Swift’s music video where she looks down at the scale where it says ‘fat’ is a s****y way to describe her body image struggles,” said one Twitter user. “Fat people don’t need to have it reiterated yet again that it’s everyone’s worst nightmare to look like us.”
Swift hasn’t directly responded to any of the criticism “Anti-Hero” is getting. Instead, she took the subtle route and removed the scale from the video entirely.
Not everyone find the ‘Anti-Hero’ video ‘fatphobic’
Despite the outrage some feel about the video, many think Swift was justified in using the scale and the word “FAT” in the video. “As a fat person who has been fat most of my life, I think that the ‘Anti-Hero’ video being edited to remove the word ‘fat’ on a scale is the one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said one Twitter user.
Another Twitter user points out how Swift’s video is clearly a “critique” of fatphobia. “I’m so tired of people with absolutely abysmal media analysis attacking artists without using any critical thinking,” they tweeted.
Still, there are other Twitter users who think many people misunderstood Swift’s video altogether. “Taylor Swift is not … fatphobic,” reads another tweet. “How would you feel if the entire internet commented about the fact that you gained a little weight and judged you by your body????”
Taylor Swift’s experience with negative body image
Swift previously opened up about her body image in the 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana. “It’s not good for me to see pictures of myself every day,” the singer pointed out. She also admitted there have been times when she’s seen a picture of herself and felt like she “looked like [her] tummy was too big, or … someone said that [she] looked pregnant … and that’ll just trigger me [her] just starve a little bit — just stop eating.”
As the aforementioned Twitter user pointed out, rather than aligning with “fatphobic” ideals, Swift’s intention was to criticize them instead. Perhaps if she stepped onto the scale and it said a more generic phrase like “Not Good Enough,” audiences would have understood that intention more clearly.
The scale and “FAT” are gone from Swift’s “Anti-Hero” music video. However, the emotion she feels in that bathroom scene remains, which was likely always the point.
