Billboard Apologizes to Taylor Swift for Video Showing Kanye West’s “Famous” Naked Wax Figure of Her

After Billboard shared a video honoring Taylor Swift that included a clip of her NSFW wax figure from Kanye West’s “Famous” music video, the publication apologized for the “error.”

This is Billboard swallowing their pride, standing in front of Taylor Swift, saying they’re sorry for that video.

After referencing Kanye West’s “Famous” music video in a social media post honoring Swift for their “Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century” list, the publication issued an apology.

“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,” the Nov. 28 statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, read. “We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error.”

E! News has reached out to reps for Swift, as well as Billboard, regarding the post but has not yet heard back.

The original post, shared by Billboard Nov. 27, included a clip of Swift’s naked wax figure from West’s 2016 “Famous” music video. Shortly after the post was shared, fans of Swift expressed their disappointment on social media.

“A man should never define a woman’s success,” one fan wrote to X in response to the original post. “Billboard owes Taylor Swift an apology.”

Another shared a screenshot of the aforementioned clip, adding, “This is disgusting.”

West’s 2016 song and music video was one of the catalysts for his ongoing feud with Swift. In July 2016, Kim Kardashian shared an edited video of a phone call between West and Swift, making it seem as though the “Karma” singer had approved the lyrics to the song, which included, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b—h famous.”

At the time, Swift emphasized that she was unaware of certain lyrics on the track, writing a response to the drama in a since-deleted Instagram post.

Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Managemen

“Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me ‘that b—h’ in his song?” Swift wrote in the post. “It doesn’t exist because it never happened. You don’t get to control someone’s emotional response to being called ‘that b–-h’ in front of the entire world.”

In 2020, a full version of the phone call revealed Swift had been telling the truth. She later reflected on the saga last year.

“You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar,” Swift told TIME. “That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before.”

Keep reading to see Swift through the years.

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