In an effort to avoid ill-advised wordplay and failed attempts at cleverness based solely on the "there's now Bad Blood between [x] and [y]" approach, I'll just say this: are you, unlike most of your friends or increasingly vigilant Twitter followers, not exactly an overenthusiastic fan of Taylor Swift's admittedly overwrought "Bad Blood" video? Well, you're not alone. In fact, you're in fine company indeed, as Miley Cyrus recently revealed she was less than thrilled with the otherwise competent pop gem's visual accompaniment.
During an interview with Marie Claire, Miley spoke with refreshing candidness regarding the seemingly contradictory nature of the video's violent approach at seeking justice for the scorned. "I don’t get the violence revenge thing,” Miley says in the magazine's cover story. "That’s supposed to be a good example? And I’m a bad role model because I’m running around with my titties out? I’m not sure how titties are worse than guns.” Miley also put the continued realities surrounding industry-supported sexism on proper blast, saying the double standards are still powerful in manipulating a public figure's image toward a fabricated ideal of gender responsibilities. "There is so much sexism, ageism, you name it," says Miley. "Kendrick Lamar sings about LSD and he's cool. I do it and I'm a druggie whore."
Speaking on her recently launched Happy Hippie Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the inspiring goal of rallying "young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable populations," Miley points to the continued need for breaking down the gender-centered barriers of a bygone era. "A lot of us are born into some shit, you know what I mean? Lately, I've been talking a lot about my being gender-fluid and gender-neutral. And some people snarl at that. They want to judge me. People need more conventional role models, I guess. But I just don't care to be that person."
Thankfully, Miley, you're not that person. You're something far more interesting and, ultimately, culturally important.
