“We live in a triggered generation”: Taylor Swift Anti-Hero fatphobic controversy explained as singer removes scene amid backlash 

Taylor Swift recently found herself in the middle of a controversy surrounding a scene in the music video of her hit single Anti-Hero from her brand-new album Midnights.

While Anti-Hero has been well-received by fans, Swift earned some backlash over a moment from her music video that showed the singer weighing herself on a scale that read “fat.”

In the scene, Swift’s alter-ago can be seen looking at her with a disapproving and disappointing look as the singer weighs herself inside a bathroom. In a promotional post, the musician mentioned what the video portrays:

“Nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts [playing] out in real time.”

Following the release of the video, several viewers dubbed the weighing scene as fatphobic and claimed that Swift portrayed the term “fat” in a negative light. Meanwhile, some fans came to her defense and said that the music video is being scrutinized by a generation that is easily “triggered”:

In response to the backlash, the weighing scene was reportedly removed from Apple Music and YouTube. The edited video shows the singer weighing herself but does not display the “fat” scale.

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Twitter reacts to Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero weighing scene controversy

Taylor Swift recently sent fans into a frenzy after releasing the lead single off her new album Midnights. However, the Anti-Hero music video sparked debate online as a scene showing the singer weighing herself on a scale displaying “fat” came under scrutiny.

While some dubbed the scene as fatphobic, others came out in Swift’s support after the latter edited the scene and removed the fat-scale display from the music video on Apple Music and YouTube. Netizens also took to Twitter to share their opinion on the situation:

YouTuber Mr Beard also argued that Swift used the weighing scene as a critique of fatphobia:

As reactions continue to pour in online, it remains to be seen if Taylor Swift will address the controversy and explain the message behind the weighing scene in the days to come.

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Taylor Swift on eating disorder and body image struggles

Taylor Swift opened up about her struggles with body image and eating in 'Miss Americana' (Image via Getty Images)

Prior to the latest debate surrounding body image issues over the weighing scene in Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero music video, the singer opened up about her own struggles in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana:

“It's not good for me to see pictures of myself every day. It’s only happened a few times, and I’m not in any way proud of it. A picture of me where I feel like I looked like my tummy was too big, or someone said that I looked pregnant and that’ll just trigger me to just starve a little bit — just stop eating.”

The Love Story hitmaker also told Variety that she had difficulty talking about the topic in the documentary:

“I didn’t know if I was going to feel comfortable with talking about body image and talking about the stuff I’ve gone through in terms of how unhealthy that’s been for me — my relationship with food and all that over the years.”

She added:

“But the way that Lana (Wilson) tells the story, it really makes sense. I’m not as articulate as I should be about this topic because there are so many people who could talk about it in a better way. But all I know is my own experience.”

Speaking about her relationship with food, Swift said:

“And my relationship with food was exactly the same psychology that I applied to everything else in my life: If I was given a pat on the head, I registered that as good. If I was given a punishment, I registered that as bad.”

While the debate surrounding the Anti-Hero weighing scene continues to make the rounds on social media, Taylor Swift or her representatives are yet to comment on the situation.