Taylor Swift seems to have gotten herself in hot water after an indie artist accused her of copying her music video.
Swift, who released her album Midnights on October 21, has been climbing the charts and breaking records ever since. Her song, “Anti-Hero”, serves as a peek into the singer’s mind, and has been applauded for vocalising the struggles of those with mental health problems.
Singing about her intrusive thoughts, eating disorder and depression, the relatively private singer chose to be as candid as possible with the world. The track is accompanied by a music video, which helps visualise the heavy emotions Swift deals with on a daily basis.
Up till now, the video has been praised (besides the “fat” reference, which Swift recently removed); however, Colombian artist Manuela Torres-Orejuela has noted the eerie similarities between Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and her visual album, Glimmer.
On Instagram, Manuela shared a side-by-side comparison of both videos, writing: “I’m literally a Swiftie so it’s simultaneously painful and such an honour to even beg this question — am I on a moodboard??”
Manuela, who released her film in April 2022, highlighted how both videos have scenes set on rooftops, both has the artists portrayed as giants and both include a scene where one doppelgänger pushes another over the edge.
Speaking to Remezcla, Manuela said when she first watched Swift’s video, her “heart sank”.
“I wanted to send it to some friends and family. But I knew a lot of people’s response to my reaction would be like, ‘You’re crazy, you’re delusional.’ I was already gaslighting myself about it,” said the 27-year-old.
After receiving a push from loved ones, Manuela chose to speak up and posted the reconstructed video to her social pages.
“I was like, ‘I know this is gonna be a risk and scary, but I should go for it because I am a small artist and an independent artist.’”
But despite feeling disheartened, Manuela said she’s not wanting to point fingers at anyone.
“I don’t need people to comment on it,” she said. “Just sharing it and showing the side-by-side. It lets people decide for themselves. That’s really the conversation I want to be happening.”
Since sharing the video, Manuela has received hateful comments from Swift’s fanbase, but that hasn’t stopped her from speaking her truth.
“As a Brown woman, oftentimes when I try to stand up for myself, it’s really easy to be talked down to and told to ‘shut up’ or ‘you’re crazy, you’re delusional,’” she said. “I’m 5’2. I’m a small Brown woman in a lot of artistic spaces. I’ve worked with other artists and in entertainment fields, understanding that I’m never gonna be taken as seriously as other people in power.”
“Anyone that questions Taylor’s character, in her fanbase, gets really irked about it,” she continues. “But she’s a white woman with wealth and a huge platform. The disparity in our platforms and our backgrounds, it just needs to be acknowledged.”
Swift and her team are yet to respond to the allegations.
