Taylor Swift dropped a new video on Sunday night after winning female artist of the year at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, but in typical Taylor Swift fashion, the release has already sparked controversy.
The video for "Delicate", the fourth release from her album Reputation, sees Swift giving interviews on a red carpet, dancing around a fancy hotel lobby in a blue gown while making "dorky" faces, and instead of her usual #squad, most of the time she's either alone, ignored or flanked by bodyguards.
While the video has been warmly received by fans, with many dubbing her expressions and uninhibited dancing "relatable", the rest of the discussion around it has been far less complimentary, with many accusing Swift of "ripping off" others' work and channelling dance prodigy Maddie Ziegler.
The most common comparison so far has been between the video and a Kenzo fragrance advert directed by the US filmmaker Spike Jonze back in 2016. The ad sees US actor Margaret Qualley dancing energetically around a fancy building in a gown while pulling strange faces.
Watch the ad above and you'll struggle to deny the similarities, both in terms of their content and aesthetics.
taylor swift's "delicate" video is a poor man's version of spike jonze's ad for Kenzo, this bop deserved more pic.twitter.com/39Ub99bKqc
— christina.jpg (@wtfcylon) March 12, 2018
Taylor Swift's "Delicate" video is weirdly similar to the Spike Jonze KENZO World commercial 🤔
— Candace Lowry (@TheCandaceLowry) March 12, 2018
✔ lonely/contemplative look off-cam
— kenny wassus (@kgw) March 12, 2018
✔ silly wink faces pic.twitter.com/dS2rR3qGop
✔ profile tracking shot of militant walk
— kenny wassus (@kgw) March 12, 2018
✔ ballet leap (one v good, the other ... not as good — granted margaret qualley is a mutant dance goddess, so taylor was doomed there) pic.twitter.com/fLm2BM1M9b
✔ dolly shot in ending w lukewarm smile pic.twitter.com/3sT9rpUPL6
— kenny wassus (@kgw) March 12, 2018
Kenzo ad by Spike Jonze + Maddie Ziegler in every Sia music video = Taylor Swift's Delicate music video
— Alice 🦋 (@_quasialice) March 12, 2018
that swift girl obviously watched some spike jonze #delicate
— jakobesen (@jakobesen) March 12, 2018
The new @taylorswift13 Delicate music video is such an insanely blatant copy/rip-off of the Spike Jonze Kenzo World commercial. The setting, colour palette, choreography, everything.
— Gina Schreuder (@Gina_and_tonic) March 12, 2018
Others have made links between "Delicate" and Britney Spears' 2000 hit "Lucky", which sees the pop icon struggling under the pressures of fame and surrounded by fans on a red carpet.
Again, the similarities are pretty striking.
Taylor Swift’s #Delicate is the reboot of Britney’s #Lucky pic.twitter.com/fqyV13wxSk
— Keely MacDonald (@KeelyMacDragon) March 12, 2018
The Delicate music video reminds me of the Lucky music video by Britney Spears.
— 11th Street Kid 🐩 (@BlondiePoodle13) March 12, 2018
#Delicate was hella cute but britney bitch did it better #lucky
— Cassandra MacLennan (@cassmaclennan) March 12, 2018
Everyone thinks Taylor's 'Delicate' video is this original masterpiece.. It's not... Parts of it have a very similar concept to Britney's 'Lucky' and most of it has Maddie Ziegler written all over it (umm the dancing)...
— Zoe Elder (@Zoe_Elder101) March 12, 2018
Other eagle-eyed Britney fans have compared later scenes in "Delicate", in which Swift dances in an abandoned rainy street, to the video for Spears’ “Overprotected (Darkchild Remix)".
The video for the 2002 hit features a similar scene in which Spears is seen dancing in a street in the rain (from 2:50 above).
This is real #Delicate #Overprotected i see the same thing pic.twitter.com/5NjtFUjjLO
— Enda Dollar ℹ️ (@endadollar) March 12, 2018
Just noticed something Taylor Swift Delicate VS Britney Spears Overprotected pic.twitter.com/abZuMjrBip
— Enda Dollar ℹ️ (@endadollar) March 12, 2018
Delicate is the unsexy version of Overprotected sue her @britneyspears pic.twitter.com/HnWOE5C1Pg
— 👼🏾 (@capitalized) March 12, 2018
These similarities will no doubt be a Delicate issue for Swift, who has faced plagiarism accusations in the past, including over the lyrics to her worldwide smash hit "Shake It Off" last year.
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