Earlier this week, Taylor Swiftsnew video for “Shake It Off”garnered heavy criticism for what someviewers believed wasaracially-motivated appropriationof African Americans. One of the more prominent critics of the video wasEarl Sweatshirt. In a series of tweets, the young rapper called the clip “inherently offensive and ultimately harmful” for the way in which it perpetuated stereotypes to the “same demographic of white girls who hide their prejudice by proclaiming their love of the culture.”
Now, the videos director, Mark Romanek, has responded toSweatshirts comments in a new interview with Vulture. Though he admitted to being a fan of the MC, Romanek said that Sweathshirts admission ofnot having seen the video “sort of invalidates his observations from the get-go.”
Responding to the accusations of racism, Romanek said that he, Swift, and the entire production crew originally set outto create something that was both satirical and light-hearted. “We simply chose styles of dance that we thought would be popular and amusing and cast the best dancers that were presented to us without much regard to race or ethnicity,” he explained. “If you look at it carefully, it’s a massively inclusive piece. It’s very, very innocently and positively intentioned. And let’s remember its a satirical piece. It’s playing with a whole range of music-video tropes and clichs and stereotypes.”
Romanek addedthat hetried to incorporate several more genres/dance styles, including a “punk mosh pit thing … but it didnt really work out.”
He concluded by imploring Sweatshirt to give the video a chance, because it’s“quite moving .. And this is why, I think, if Earl Sweatshirt was open-minded enough to take the four minutes to watch it, he might see what the larger, humanistic, and utterly color-blind message was intended to be.”
Below, watch the video that started it all.
