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 one more bombshell (it’s already caused a lot of drama) in their ranking of “The Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century,” placing Taylor second, and Beyoncé in first place.
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Well, the clip used in the video was actually pulled from Kanye West’s controversial Famous music visuals.
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.
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.
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.
