'Billboard' Issues Apology for Using Taylor Swift Nude Wax Figure in Career Highlights Video

The publication included the revenge porn clip from Kanye West's "Famous" music video while counting down the greatest pop stars of the 21st century

Photo: Matt Forsythe

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Nov 28, 2024

Billboard has issued an apology following the backlash to their inclusion of that infamous revenge porn clip of a nude wax figure of Taylor Swift from Kanye West's "Famous" music video in a video of the pop star's career highlights.

"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," Billboard's apology statement, posted to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — where #BillboardIsOverParty is currently trending — early this morning, reads. "We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error."

The video was posted as part of the publication's countdown of the greatest pop stars of the 21st century. Swift was only No. 2 on the list, which in and of itself infuriated many a Swiftie, so the decision to use that clip certainly added insult to injury. The No. 1 pop star on the list has yet to be revealed, but everybody's expecting it to be Beyoncé — however, the Weeknd wants to know why Lana Del Rey was omitted. (He himself was ranked No. 18.)

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