Australian singer Troye Sivan has addressed criticism of his latest music video, after he was called out by fans for not including models with a diverse range of body types.
Last week, the 28-year-old pop star released the video for his new single, “Rush”, off his upcoming album, Something to Give Each Other. The dancey, club beat was immediately dubbed the song of the summer, though the accompanying music video has since come under fire for its lack of body diversity.
One critic described the music video as a “return to body fascism and emaciation,” while another expressed their “frustration and disappointment” that Sivan’s video featured only thin models or muscular bodies.
In a new interview with Billboard, Sivan said he understood the criticism, though admitted that including a diverse array of body types in the video “wasn’t a thought we had”.
“I definitely hear the critique,” Sivan said. “To be honest, it just wasn’t a thought we had – we obviously weren’t saying: ‘We want to have one specific type of person in the video.’ We just made the video, and there wasn’t a ton of thought put behind that.”
As he reflected on the backlash, The Idol star also called out negative comments he received about his own body type.
“There was this article yesterday, and they were talking about [the lack of body diversity], and in the same sentence, this person said ‘Eat something, you stupid twinks,’” he shared. “That really bummed me out to read that - because I’ve had my own insecurities with my body image. I think that everyone’s body is as beautiful as it is, including my own, and it just sucks to see people talking about other people’s bodies.”
Troye Sivan’s pal and “1999” collaborator Charli XCX appeared to defend the South African-born singer on Friday, when she described criticism around art as “boring discourse”.
“I feel like we live in a world where audiences feel like expression or art isn’t worth their time unless it appeases every single unspoken requirement,” the British pop star tweeted. “IT IS SO BORING. If something breaks common aesthetics it’s ‘weird’ or ‘try hard’ if something conforms it’s ‘offensive’ and ‘not diverse enough’.”
The “Vroom Vroom” singer also pointed to fellow musician Sam Smith, who has been heavily criticised for featuring diverse body types in their music videos about eroticism and sexuality. “No one can ever successfully make art for everyone in this current world, nor should they try to,” she maintained.
Troye Sivan has been open about his struggles with body image in the past. In 2018, he shared a shirtless selfie as he admitted to feeling “really weird” about his appearance. “Been feeling real weird and s****y about my body for the first time in my life and I hate that so hello let’s celebrate these bones!!” he wrote over his Instagram Story post.
His third studio album, Something to Give Each Other, is due for release on 13 October. Sivan’s previous album, Bloom, was released in 2018 to critical praise and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart.
