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Taylor Swift’s Music Video Director Hits Back at Criticism: ‘Beyoncé Copied ‘Bad Blood’

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Taylor Swift‘s music video director Joseph Kahn is doubling down on his defenses of the singer and himself following the release of her buzzy and seemingly revenge-themed “Look What You Made Me Do” music video.

While Kahn earlier called out what he saw as a gendered double standard following critiques of Swift and himself after the video’s release, this time he’s calling out Beyoncé, showing apparently no fear of her avid fan base, the Bey Hive.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kahn addressed online critics that he’s been sparring with many on Twitter who found visual similarities between “Look What You Made Me Do” and Beyoncé’s groundbreaking “Formation” video.

“It’s not ‘Formation’ at all,” Kahn said. “They try to say she’s wearing a black crop top and Beyoncé wore a black crop top. But they don’t realize in 2015 in ‘Bad Blood,’ Taylor Swift was wearing a black crop top. I really do think, by the way, that Beyoncé copied ‘Bad Blood.’”

It’s a bold statement from a man who’s already felt the fire of the Lemonade singer’s fans, but Kahn is no stranger to controversy when it comes to his collaborations with Swift.

He came to Swift’s defense in a statement in 2015, explaining his creative vision with Swift after the “Wildest Dreams” video was widely criticized for glamorizing African colonialism.

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Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com