On November 1, 2024, Taylor Swift captivated audiences during her mesmerizing 'Eras Tour' in Indianapolis, with Kevin Mazur—TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management capturing every magical moment. Billboard intended to immortalize Swift's legacy by naming her the second greatest pop star of the century, a distinction that, for some of her fervent fans, might have already seemed a slight—ranking her merely second could be deemed blasphemy. However, in a now-edited video acknowledging her achievement, the music publication included a clip that sparked an even greater wave of indignation, ultimately leading to an apology to the artist herself.
As part of Billboard's countdown of the 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st century, it unveiled its No. 2 pick on Tuesday: the billionaire singer-songwriter and last year's TIME Person of the Year, Taylor Swift. Billboard posted a video on social media celebrating her career and legacy. However, within it, the publication referenced Kanye West's controversial 2016 song "Famous," which featured a naked wax figure of Swift in its music video and the offensive lyric, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b-tch famous." The song and its accompanying video, widely criticized at the time for their misogynistic nature, emerged during a long-standing feud between the two artists.
Swift's fans, known as Swifties, were outraged by the inclusion of West (now going by Ye and ranked by Billboard as the seventh greatest pop star of the 21st century) and the offensive footage from his music video in a reel ostensibly meant to pay homage to Swift. One fan account labeled it "beyond nasty" and "a blatant slap in the face," while another declared it "not only unprofessional, but extremely problematic." The hashtags #BillboardIsOverParty and #BillboardApologizeToTaylor began trending on social media.
In response, Billboard removed the video and reposted it on Wednesday without the controversial clip. Early Thursday, the publication issued an apology, stating: "We are profoundly sorry to Taylor Swift and all of our readers and viewers for including a clip in a video celebrating Swift's achievements that falsely depicted her. We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error."
To date, Swift has not publicly commented on Billboard's list, video, or apology.
