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Billboard apologized to fans for reportedly including a controversial clip of Taylor Swift from a Kanye West music video as they named her the Number 2 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century. Writing about the same on X on November 28, Billboard said:
“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.”
Previously, on the same day, Billboard had posted a video on their social media, highlighting Taylor Swift's achievements. However, the video reportedly included a clip from Kanye West’s song Famous, where a wax figure of Taylor can be seen lying next to Kanye in a bed, seemingly naked.
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Although Billboard apologized for the "error," fans were unhappy with the list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century. Many commented on the apology post, stating that the media outlet should also apologize to other artists as well. One comment read:
“You need to apologize to Rihanna and Nicki too."
Other users stated:
“You owe Britney an apology too THANKS,” wrote one X user.
“Those articles about not just Taylor but Nicki, Rihanna, Katy and much more were awful. they deserve an apology too!” added another social media user.
Furthermore, other fans commented, saying Billboard’s “apology is not accepted” as they took "hours" to notice the “error.”
“"Error” but it took you hours to delete and you need to click the post button,” commented one X user on the post.
“Why did it take several hours, two trending hashtags, and thousands of comments for y’all to apologize? you’re only sorry that you got caught,” exclaimed another.
“Your apology is not accepted. this should have never happened in the first place,” stated one more X user.
Billboard named Drake, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga with Taylor Swift in the top 5 in their list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century
While fans were outraged to see Taylor Swift’s controversial visuals in the video by Billboard, many also commented about the list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century, presented by the media outlet. The list included the names of many popular pop stars.
Drake, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga with Taylor Swift were among the Top 5. Furthermore, the media outlet included the names of Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and Kanye West in the Top 10. The first position as per the media outlet was bagged by Beyonce.
The list further included names like Usher, Eminem, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, and Katy Perry in the top 25. 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, and Billie Eilish, among other artists, were some of the honorable mentions.
While social media users continue to express displeasure towards the media outlet and their list, neither Taylor Swift nor the other artists have spoken up about the controversy.
