US Politics | Taylor Swift shouldn’t have backed down to body positivity brigade – we should never celebrate obesity or make excuses
ONE of the planet's most powerful pop stars, Taylor Swift has taken on Trump, the gun lobby, homophobes, anti-abortionists and A-list exes. Before coming face to face — or, rather, face to jowl — with one insurmountable enemy: The Bo-Po (body positivity) brigade. 
GettyTaylor, 32, has been accussed of fat shaming in her latest video Anti-Hero '/ ' Accused of fat shaming in her latest video Anti-Hero, which showed her stand- ing on scales bearing the word "Fat", she's been monstered. Despite previously speaking honestly about her own disordered eating, she was nonetheless chewed up and swallowed whole by people who think we should be happy at any size. 
Taylor Swift ProductionsTaylor has been criticised over allegedly ...fat phobic' agenda in new music video '/ ' Even morbidly obese. Even craned-out-of-the-house obese. Social media critics were quick to waddle in. "100 per cent tone deaf. READ MORE SHOWBIZ 
SWIFTLY OVER THEM Taylor Swift feuds: From Kim Kardashian to Kanye West Fat shaming is way too normalized & persistent. Celebs don't need to pile on", observed one "fan". "Being fat is not a bad thing and in five seconds of your video you have reinforced the idea that it is," TikTok influencer Reyna Cohan asserted in a now viral post. "Saying having a body like mine is one of your biggest fears further dehumanizes me and my body," chimed someone else, while another observer remarked that the scene is "an example of how insidious and casual fatphobia is". Most read in The US Sun SICKLY VLAD Bombshell leaked spy docs suggest Putin DOES have Parkinson's and cancer EXTRA CASH One-time payment from $3billion pot goes out today to millions of Americans MCAFEE BLOWS A FUSE Pat McAfee trolls the NFL after league hits his show with a bizarre ban 'CLOSURE' Delphi victim's sister breaks silence about arrest after haunting signs revealed DID YOU CATCH IT? The View's Whoopi shades Sara with quick comment caught on hot mic MONSTER'S TRAP Moment killer husband lures pregnant wife to cliff before pushing her off Taylor, who shot and directed the pithy Anti-Hero, moved Swiftly. She quickly deleted the offending word — "fat". Except, by then, it was too late. The cancel culture mob had won. Taylor, who has 229million followers on Instagram and follows absolutely no one, showed she is, after all, a bit of a sheep. But who can blame her? For the past eight years, over-eating has killed more people than smoking. Almost a quarter of all deaths today are from obesity and it causes, among other things, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. We absolutely shouldn't be celebrating it or making excuses for it (thyroid conditions and/or illness aside, obviously). People have been shamed into giving up smoking, but we can't shame people into giving up food because — unlike cigarettes or alcohol — it is essential. It's a tricky subject, one laden with emotional sensitivities. But, this isn't about knocking Body Positivity. It's about denying a young woman her own experience. In an uber-woke cultural landscape obsessed with an individual's "truth" — thanks Meghan — why hasn't Taylor been allowed to express hers? "Anti-Hero is one of my favourite songs I've ever written," she said during her recent album promo. ...I really don't think I've delved into my insecurities in this detail before. This song is a guided tour of all the things I tend to hate about myself. So yeah, I like Anti-Hero a lot because I think it's really honest." In a world of filters, fillers and fakeness, Taylor was being real. Like PMT, worrying about weight is a tragic but very real part of the female psyche. Not irregular- ly I moan to friends that I feel fat. Objectively, I'm not but, for whatever reason — societal, two bottles of wine and a salted cara- mel Magnum or time of the month — it's how I feel. But because I'm a not a globally famous superstar — as anyone who's ever heard me sing will testify — I don't get cancelled every time. In admitting to her own deep-rooted in-securities, supremely talented Taylor, who has battled borderline anorexia, should be lauded, not lampooned. Censoring the exist-ence of fat-phobia, or an artist's lived exper-ience of it, is not a battle that we should be fighting. Fighting fat is. RESEARCHERS claim the average Brit lies 34 times a day.In a poll of 2,000 people – all hopefully telling the truth – top fibs include "I forgot", "I'll do it tomorrow" (ie. never) and "I am listening". Speaking of porkies . . . as a child, having pestered my parents for months and months and months, I was finally given two pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs for Christmas. (Yes, back then they had a big garden.) Cut to university, and my excited return home for Christmas. Only to be told by my parents that mysteriously vanished pigs, Leonardo and Donatello, were no longer in the garden, as they'd gone to a "lovely piggy farm in Hampshire". Refusing to meet my eye, I was told they were "really happy now, frolicking in orchards and having tummy rubs with their new porcine friends". Oh. Insult to 999 crews NETFLIX crews working in Paris on the traumatic (and macabre) final hours of Princess Diana's life have been offered counselling by the under-fire streaming giant. The Crown has already denounced the Royal Family, making billions off the back of them. A spot of virtue signalling now doesn't suddenly make everything OK. What's more, the offer of therapy for those filming actors, in prosthetics, simulating a car crash is an insult to those who have to witness this stuff for real. Police, paramedics, members of the Armed Forces: These heroes know the real meaning of trauma, and the mental health issues that come with it. Where's their help? WRITING his forthcoming tome "Spare" has been "cathartic" for Prince Harry, royal commen-tators have claimed. Which is only mildly surprising, given that I wouldn't think he knows the meaning of the word. Close cruel zoos 
A young monkey clinging to a lamp for warmth at ...Britain's worst zoo' in the Cumbria PLEASE, somebody, make it stop. Britain's "worst zoo", where nearly 500 animals have died in three years, continues to meet "basic standards" of animal welfare, a fresh investigation has found. A string of hygiene and welfare issues were identified at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Lindal In Furness, Cumbria, following an inspection by international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation. This photo, of a young monkey clinging to a lamp for warmth, makes my heart hurt. Hopefully, one day, future generations will look back at long-gone zoos as horror relics from the past. Em has earned her smash-ing supercar PRINCIPLES are GREAT. But a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet is even better. Emma Raducanu has been slated by a few miserly types for driving the £125,000 supercar . . . just weeks after saying she'd never ditch her second-hand Dacia Sandero. 
InstagramEmma Raducanu poses infront of her new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet '/ ' 
tillendoveJust weeks after Raducanu said she'd never ditch her second-hand Dacia Sandero '/ ' Give the teen a break. The tennis ace – who dreamt of owning a Porsche as a youngster – has dedicated two-thirds of her young life to the sport and is a role model to millions. Let her enjoy the fruits of her labour . . . and do 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds, not years. THE best thing on telly is back. The multi-Emmy- winning The White Lotus, featuring Theo James, above, has returned for a second series on Sky Atlantic, give it a go. Frack ban mad OF all the government's schizophrenic U-turns, perhaps the most nonsensical is its decision to revive the ban on fracking. A Liverpool University study shows that the subsequent magnitude limit on fracking tremors – 0.5 – is less than the "shock" caused by dropping a melon from waist height. More than a million shale wells have been drilled in America and, to date, buildings remain intact and citizens alive. As Tory Peer Peter Lilley explains: Our planned pathway to Net Zero assumes Britain will need some gas for the next 25 years. Our own reserves would offer security of supply, generate tax revenues, strengthen the pound and contribute to levelling up." Before the eco-warriors pipe up, it would also be better for the environment than importing liquefied natural gas, which emits four times as much carbon pre-use. The anti-fracking zealots are becoming as mad, bad and reckless as the anti-vaxxers of yesteryear.
GettyTaylor, 32, has been accussed of fat shaming in her latest video Anti-Hero '/ ' Accused of fat shaming in her latest video Anti-Hero, which showed her stand- ing on scales bearing the word "Fat", she's been monstered. Despite previously speaking honestly about her own disordered eating, she was nonetheless chewed up and swallowed whole by people who think we should be happy at any size. Taylor Swift ProductionsTaylor has been criticised over allegedly ...fat phobic' agenda in new music video '/ ' Even morbidly obese. Even craned-out-of-the-house obese. Social media critics were quick to waddle in. "100 per cent tone deaf. READ MORE SHOWBIZ SWIFTLY OVER THEM Taylor Swift feuds: From Kim Kardashian to Kanye West Fat shaming is way too normalized & persistent. Celebs don't need to pile on", observed one "fan". "Being fat is not a bad thing and in five seconds of your video you have reinforced the idea that it is," TikTok influencer Reyna Cohan asserted in a now viral post. "Saying having a body like mine is one of your biggest fears further dehumanizes me and my body," chimed someone else, while another observer remarked that the scene is "an example of how insidious and casual fatphobia is". Most read in The US Sun SICKLY VLAD Bombshell leaked spy docs suggest Putin DOES have Parkinson's and cancer EXTRA CASH One-time payment from $3billion pot goes out today to millions of Americans MCAFEE BLOWS A FUSE Pat McAfee trolls the NFL after league hits his show with a bizarre ban 'CLOSURE' Delphi victim's sister breaks silence about arrest after haunting signs revealed DID YOU CATCH IT? The View's Whoopi shades Sara with quick comment caught on hot mic MONSTER'S TRAP Moment killer husband lures pregnant wife to cliff before pushing her off Taylor, who shot and directed the pithy Anti-Hero, moved Swiftly. She quickly deleted the offending word — "fat". Except, by then, it was too late. The cancel culture mob had won. Taylor, who has 229million followers on Instagram and follows absolutely no one, showed she is, after all, a bit of a sheep. But who can blame her? For the past eight years, over-eating has killed more people than smoking. Almost a quarter of all deaths today are from obesity and it causes, among other things, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. We absolutely shouldn't be celebrating it or making excuses for it (thyroid conditions and/or illness aside, obviously). People have been shamed into giving up smoking, but we can't shame people into giving up food because — unlike cigarettes or alcohol — it is essential. It's a tricky subject, one laden with emotional sensitivities. But, this isn't about knocking Body Positivity. It's about denying a young woman her own experience. In an uber-woke cultural landscape obsessed with an individual's "truth" — thanks Meghan — why hasn't Taylor been allowed to express hers? "Anti-Hero is one of my favourite songs I've ever written," she said during her recent album promo. ...I really don't think I've delved into my insecurities in this detail before. This song is a guided tour of all the things I tend to hate about myself. So yeah, I like Anti-Hero a lot because I think it's really honest." In a world of filters, fillers and fakeness, Taylor was being real. Like PMT, worrying about weight is a tragic but very real part of the female psyche. Not irregular- ly I moan to friends that I feel fat. Objectively, I'm not but, for whatever reason — societal, two bottles of wine and a salted cara- mel Magnum or time of the month — it's how I feel. But because I'm a not a globally famous superstar — as anyone who's ever heard me sing will testify — I don't get cancelled every time. In admitting to her own deep-rooted in-securities, supremely talented Taylor, who has battled borderline anorexia, should be lauded, not lampooned. Censoring the exist-ence of fat-phobia, or an artist's lived exper-ience of it, is not a battle that we should be fighting. Fighting fat is. RESEARCHERS claim the average Brit lies 34 times a day.In a poll of 2,000 people – all hopefully telling the truth – top fibs include "I forgot", "I'll do it tomorrow" (ie. never) and "I am listening". Speaking of porkies . . . as a child, having pestered my parents for months and months and months, I was finally given two pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs for Christmas. (Yes, back then they had a big garden.) Cut to university, and my excited return home for Christmas. Only to be told by my parents that mysteriously vanished pigs, Leonardo and Donatello, were no longer in the garden, as they'd gone to a "lovely piggy farm in Hampshire". Refusing to meet my eye, I was told they were "really happy now, frolicking in orchards and having tummy rubs with their new porcine friends". Oh. Insult to 999 crews NETFLIX crews working in Paris on the traumatic (and macabre) final hours of Princess Diana's life have been offered counselling by the under-fire streaming giant. The Crown has already denounced the Royal Family, making billions off the back of them. A spot of virtue signalling now doesn't suddenly make everything OK. What's more, the offer of therapy for those filming actors, in prosthetics, simulating a car crash is an insult to those who have to witness this stuff for real. Police, paramedics, members of the Armed Forces: These heroes know the real meaning of trauma, and the mental health issues that come with it. Where's their help? WRITING his forthcoming tome "Spare" has been "cathartic" for Prince Harry, royal commen-tators have claimed. Which is only mildly surprising, given that I wouldn't think he knows the meaning of the word. Close cruel zoos A young monkey clinging to a lamp for warmth at ...Britain's worst zoo' in the Cumbria PLEASE, somebody, make it stop. Britain's "worst zoo", where nearly 500 animals have died in three years, continues to meet "basic standards" of animal welfare, a fresh investigation has found. A string of hygiene and welfare issues were identified at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Lindal In Furness, Cumbria, following an inspection by international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation. This photo, of a young monkey clinging to a lamp for warmth, makes my heart hurt. Hopefully, one day, future generations will look back at long-gone zoos as horror relics from the past. Em has earned her smash-ing supercar PRINCIPLES are GREAT. But a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet is even better. Emma Raducanu has been slated by a few miserly types for driving the £125,000 supercar . . . just weeks after saying she'd never ditch her second-hand Dacia Sandero. InstagramEmma Raducanu poses infront of her new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet '/ ' tillendoveJust weeks after Raducanu said she'd never ditch her second-hand Dacia Sandero '/ ' Give the teen a break. The tennis ace – who dreamt of owning a Porsche as a youngster – has dedicated two-thirds of her young life to the sport and is a role model to millions. Let her enjoy the fruits of her labour . . . and do 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds, not years. THE best thing on telly is back. The multi-Emmy- winning The White Lotus, featuring Theo James, above, has returned for a second series on Sky Atlantic, give it a go. Frack ban mad OF all the government's schizophrenic U-turns, perhaps the most nonsensical is its decision to revive the ban on fracking. A Liverpool University study shows that the subsequent magnitude limit on fracking tremors – 0.5 – is less than the "shock" caused by dropping a melon from waist height. More than a million shale wells have been drilled in America and, to date, buildings remain intact and citizens alive. As Tory Peer Peter Lilley explains: Our planned pathway to Net Zero assumes Britain will need some gas for the next 25 years. Our own reserves would offer security of supply, generate tax revenues, strengthen the pound and contribute to levelling up." Before the eco-warriors pipe up, it would also be better for the environment than importing liquefied natural gas, which emits four times as much carbon pre-use. The anti-fracking zealots are becoming as mad, bad and reckless as the anti-vaxxers of yesteryear.
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