It seems the outrage mob always has something to be offended at these days.

This week’s target of internet outrage: Taylor Swift.

The 32-year-old pop star, the darling of the left, has ventured boldly into left-wing political activism over the past several years. That she ended up in the Twitter mob’s crosshairs goes to show just how ridiculous the rules of PC have become.

In her new music video for the song “Anti-Hero”, the “Shake It Off” hitmaker encounters various “nightmare scenarios.” These include ghost-like figures haunting her and her daughter-in-law killing her for her money. 

But one “nightmare scenario” in particular has internet cry babies up in arms.

The controversial video depicts a skinny Swift stepping onto a scale that displays, much to her dismay, the word “fat.”

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen: “fat.” Taylor Swift does not want to be fat.

The gall!

The internet quickly and ruthlessly slammed Swift for… not wanting to be fat? She was accused of being “fatphobic” and bashed for her “thin privilege.”

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“The idea of being “fat” might be an “intrusive thought” or a “nightmare” for Swift — a valid experience that many people of all sizes can relate to. But the fact is that she has never lived in a “fat” body (no matter what internet trolls might say). She may struggle with feeling fat, but she is a thin white woman, and she’s benefited from it,” wrote Olivia Truffaut-Wong in a scathing New York Magazine op-ed.

“To me,” she continues, “this scene isn’t just harmful because it reinforces the idea of being “fat” as bad; it’s harmful because the word “fat” is triggering to many of us who actually exist in these bodies. It allows the video to give off the air of being inclusive while still celebrating a thin body. Unless Swift is willing to unpack her own thin privilege, or take a stand for her fat fans,” Truffaut-Wong concludes, “any perceived gesture of solidarity with fat people is meaningless.”

Notably, the superstar doesn’t shame, mock, or express disdain for fat people. She simply is disappointed that she might be or become fat. 

And who wouldn’t be? Honestly.

Who wouldn’t be disappointed if they stepped on a scale only to be informed that they were “fat”? We don’t need Taylor Swift to tell us that this is bad. We know it instinctively.

The real reason people are offended by this is because people are offended by the idea that they have any amount of control over their lives. Offended by the idea that they are responsible for the choices they make.

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For most people, staying in good shape requires discipline, exercise, and a sacrificial diet. If Taylor Swift has “thin privilege,” it is because–I can guarantee you–she doesn’t eat potato chips and pizza every night, passes on having a soda with every meal, and skips out on late-night fridge runs.

Those are her choices. And they are admirable ones.

We don’t have to mock people who don’t make those choices but we certainly shouldn’t shame the people who do.

Obesity is a big, deadly deal in America. Forty-two percent of Americans are considered medically obese. Seventeen states saw “statistically significant increases in… adult obesity” following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. If anything deserves the outrage of Americans it isn’t a gentle, innocent reminder that Taylor Swift is not fat; it is the normalization of an epidemic that kills 2.8 million people every year.

Unfortunately, Swift caved and self-censored her video, removing the “fatphobic” messaging. If not even America’s favorite blondie can get away with suggesting–however subtly–that fat is bad, I’m afraid no one can.

Jakob Fay is a staff writer for the Convention of States Project, a project of Citizens for Self-Governance.