‘Look What You Made Me Do’ video director Joseph Kahn has jumped to the defence of Taylor Swift, claiming that recent criticism of her is rooted in sexism.
Over the weekend, Joseph and Taylor’s latest collaboration was debuted during the MTV Video Music Awards, and it sees the pop singer sending up various ways she’s been construed in the media in recent years.
The clip opens with Taylor rising from the dead, and later sees her as the leader of a “squad” of robots, sitting on a throne surrounded by snakes and burning cash, before 15 versions of herself are seen having an argument.
Since its release, the video has divided opinion, with some praising Taylor for turning the public’s perception of her on its head, while others have suggested it’s another example of the star playing the victim, or using humour to try and win over some of her detractors.
Responding to the latter on his Twitter page, Joseph wrote: “If I plan something as a man I’m a ‘genius’. If Taylor as a woman plans something she is ‘manipulative’. Double standards. This is wrong.”
Prior to this, he’d already shot down comparisons between Taylor’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ video and Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning ‘Formation’ clip.
He insisted: “I’ve worked with Beyoncé a few times. She’s an amazing person. [The ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ video] is not in her art space. Love and respect to Bey.”
As well as Taylor’s ‘Bad Blood’, ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Out Of The Woods’ videos, Joseph Kahn has previously helmed the accompanying visuals for Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’, ‘Womanizer’ and ‘Stronger’, Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’ and the Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’.
‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is the lead single from Taylor’s forthcoming sixth album, ‘Reputation’, which is set to drop later this year.