Billboard magazine apologized to Taylor Swift for a video celebrating the singer that featured a clip of a naked wax figure of Swift from a 2016 music video for Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West.
“We are deeply sorry to Taylor Swift and all of our readers and viewers that in a video celebrating Swift’s achievements, we included a clip that falsely depicted her,” Billboard said in a statement shared Thursday on social media. “We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error.”
Billboard had previously shared a video on social media highlighting the ups and downs of Swift’s career, and it included footage from Ye’s “Famous” music video. In that video, a wax figure of Swift is seen naked in bed with other wax figures of nude celebrities. Swift and Ye have had a feud dating back to 2009, when he interrupted her acceptance speech at an awards show.
In a 2019 Tumblr post, Swift wrote about the “incessant, manipulative bullying” she said she had received from music manager Scooter Braun and those around him, saying that “his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked.”
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Swift fans were outraged over the recent Billboard video. One said it was a “disgustingly cruel reminder that no matter how rich or successful we are, women’s bodies are not our own.”
Writer Sarah Manavis called the Billboard video “repulsive,” suggesting it showed that even as people try to celebrate Swift, they “will try to humiliate her in the process.”
English (US) ·