Billboard named Taylor Swift the No. 2 greatest pop star of the 21st century — but it was the publication’s accompanying video that got fans talking.
The outlet teased Swift’s spot in their ranking with a video montage of big moments from her career, including a controversial clip of the pop star, 34, in Kanye West’s “Famous” music video.
In the video, a naked wax figure of Swift’s likeness was placed next to the “Heartless” rapper in bed — which she has made very clear was not pre-approved.
Fans were outraged by Billboard’s inclusion of the clip, sharing their disapproval on X along with the hashtag “BillboardIsOverParty.”
“Okay, Billboard‘s intention was to recap everything that happened in her entire career, i get that. But was it really necessary to include THAT scene? Just nasty, disrespectful and unprofessional,” one user wrote.
“It isn’t an error btw, an error could be including a wrong pic or adding a wrong number or those basic things but you guys added a revenge porn to the video talking about her achievements which is unnecessary + you did it with other artists like Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj,” a second added.
“using a clip of taylor’s naked body made without her consent should really anger every fandom. women deserve to be treated like humans by these multi billion companies,” a third person chimed in.
“@billboard was mentioning the kanye feud and the famous video and lyrics really important in announcement video for taylor in greatest artists list?? how’s that relevant to her legacy and accomplishments??? you’re a piece of s—t!” someone else noted.
Billboard took down the video amid the growing backlash and issued an apology to the “Fortnight” singer, who has yet to address the situation.
“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,” the magazine’s statement read.
“We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error.”
Swift’s feud with West began in 2009 when he interrupted her at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Although the “Cruel Summer” singer forgave West, he rehashed their beef in 2016 when he released his song “Famous”.
In the song, West rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.”
The 14-time Grammy winner later expressed her displeasure over the situation, leading West’s then-wife Kim Kardashian to release a doctored video of Swift seemingly permitting him to do so.
While West mentioned the line about “sex” in the call, he did not reveal he would be calling Swift a “bitch.”
“Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me ‘that bitch’ in his song? It doesn’t exist because it never happened,” the “Shake It Off” singer wrote on social media at the time. “You don’t get to control someone’s emotional response to being called ‘that bitch’ in front of the entire world.”
She continued, “You cannot ‘approve’ a song you haven’t heard. Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination.”
West, 47, released the music video amid the tensions, showing a fake version of the pop star in bed with him and other high-profile celebrities.
Despite Swift’s explanation, the internet turned on the superstar, branding her a snake and liar. She took a step back from the public eye for a full year before announcing her return with a revenge record, “Reputation.”
Swift and West’s full phone call leaked online in March 2020, proving the pop star’s side of things.
