Whoopi Goldberg Defends Taylor Swift After Critics Accuse Her of Fatphobia on ‘The View’: “Leave Her Ass Alone”

Taylor Swift has been the talk of the internet since dropping her 10th album, Midnights, on Friday (Oct. 21), but not all of the chatter has been positive. The View has heard the buzz, and the panel went full-on Swiftie today, swooping in to defend the artist after she was hit with backlash over “fatphobic” visuals in one of her music videos.

The musician has come under fire from critics after releasing her “Anti-Hero” short film, which features a scene with Swift standing on a scale reading “fat.” Some have raised concerns about the scale imagery, which they think is potentially dangerous to those struggling with body image issues.

While Swift has been accused of “promoting so-called fatphobia,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg explained on this morning’s episode, “her supporters are pointing out how she has always been open about her struggle with her own eating disorders, and the video reflects what she sees, not what you see her seeing.”

Goldberg firmly backed Swift and the Midnights track, dismissing critics and telling them to stop listening to her music if they are offended.

“Just let her have her feelings. If you don’t like the song, don’t listen to it,” Goldberg said. “Why are you wasting your time on this?”

She added, “Leave the girl alone. You always want to say something about Taylor Swift. Leave her ass alone, okay?”

Goldberg also defended Swift’s creativity as a musician, arguing that she can represent her lyrics how she chooses because she’s the one who created them in the first place.

“She’s an artist. Let her do her thing,” Goldberg said. “Again, if it’s not your music, don’t listen to it.”

Swift, who directed the video for “Anti-Hero” and wrote the lyrics to the song, has been outspoken about her struggles with body image in the past, and said the track is her favorite off of Midnights because of its honesty.

“This song really is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves,” she said in an Instagram video. “So yeah, I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.”

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.