You gotta tread lightly when mentioning Taylor Swift’s name, because her army of loyal fans is always on high alert, ready to go full defense mode.
Yesterday (November 27), Billboard dropped a bombshell in their ranking of “The Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century,” placing Taylor second, and Beyoncé in first place.
Naturally, a bunch of Swifties felt totally let down. I mean, with the most profitable female tour in history, insane awards, record-breaking charts, and Spotify stats through the roof, they knew Taylor had first place on lock (though, shoutout to Queen B for taking the crown — no shock there).
RELATED:
The 30 Best-Selling Female Artists of All Time
But! What really sent fans into a spiral and got #BillboardIsOverParty trending on X (Twitter) was the super controversial image used in the video meant to celebrate Taylor’s career: that of Tay’s naked wax figure…and IYKYK (!!)
Why’s Taylor’s wax figure image such a big deal?
Well, the clip used in the video was actually pulled from Kanye West’s controversial Famous music visuals. (Yup, him again — dude just can’t stop messing up).
The 2016 song included derogatory lyrics about Taylor such as, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bi**h famous,” while the video showed wax figures of naked celebs, including Taylor.
CHECK OUT:
Taylor Swift’s Enemies – Her 15 Biggest Feuds
In what sparked the infamous Kanye and Taylor feud, she later spoke out, saying she never gave permission for the lyrics, and was “livid” and “horrified” that her image was used in such a degrading and misogynist way.
Indeed, it caused a whole lot of drama, and well, it’s something we just don’t bring up anymore.
It’s hard to believe that, nearly two Reputations later (still waiting on that re-recording…), this ghost from the past would come back to haunt Swifties, thanks to Billboard’s infamous post.
Billboard is Forced to Apologize for Sharing the ‘Famous’ Clip
The huge backlash pushed the music publication to remove the clip from the video and issue an apology across all their socials. In the early hours of the 28th, Billboard said they were “deeply sorry for the harm caused by this error.” The apology wrote:
“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. We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error.”
While some fans accepted it, others weren’t buying it, claiming it wasn’t just a mistake, but a deliberate attack on Taylor.
The Internet Calls Out Billboard for Taylor Swift Wax Figure Clip
Fans of other divas also stepped up to defend Taylor online, pointing out how misogyny in the music industry impacts all women. They even called out past instances where Billboard shaded female artists, leading other fanbases to rally behind the hashtag #BillboardIsOverParty.
It looks like Billboard just stirred up some major Bad Blood, huh? Well, look what they made the Swifties do…
READ NEXT:
Taylor Swift’s Biggest Scandals & Controversies
