Troye Sivan has responded to backlash surrounding the music video for his new song Rush.
The clip featured a group of chiseled men dancing shirtless alongside the Australian singer, 28, sparking criticism about the lack of body diversity.
Breaking his silence on the controversy, Troye told Billboard on Tuesday that body image crossed his mind when he was filming the clip.
‘I definitely hear the critique. To be honest, it just wasn’t a thought we had’, the former YouTuber said.
‘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.’
Troye Sivan, 28. (centre) has responded to backlash surrounding the music video for his new song Rush, after he was slammed for not including diverse bodies (Pictured is a scene from the clip)
Troye said he was upset to read the barrage of hurtful comments about the clip.
‘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.’
‘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.’
‘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,’ he told Billboard on Tuesday
‘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,’ he said
The film clip, directed by Gordon von Steiner, beings with a man slapping his own pert derrière, before Troye parties with shirtless male dancers at a pool party.
While the video received praise unusual choreography and references to LGBTQ+ culture, many viewers were displeased by the lack of larger bodies.
‘I adore Troye Sivan, but this ”Rush” video is making me feel some type of way,’ one fan tweeted.
The film clip, directed by Gordon von Steiner, beings with a man slapping his own pert derrière, before Troye parties with shirtless male dancers at a pool party
While the video received praise unusual choreography and references to LGBTQ+ culture, many viewers were displeased by the lack of larger bodies
‘It seems like a case study on how white gays choose to view queer people as a whole. There’s not a single fat person in the entire video. Just white twinks and chiseled bodies.’
The video also saw a number of hilarious memes posted to social media, implying that people with diverse body shapes were not welcome in the clip.
One meme featured a blonde woman jokingly labelled as the music video director for Rush holding a sign: ‘If you’re not thin, you’re not coming in.’
The clip also features a shirtless Troye in a passionate embrace alongside another man. Pictured
Yet another saw a very slim door with the words above it saying: ‘The door to the Rush music video set.’
Another showed Nan from The Catherine Tate Show with the words saying: ‘me calling the Rush music video set asking to speak to someone over 90Ibs’.
However, a number of Twitter users came to the star’s defense.
‘Am I the only big boy who sees myself dancing next to a pool during summer to Rush by Troye Sivan?’ they wrote.
‘Song of the summer – Rush by Troye Sivan,’ another added.
Fans lambasted the South African born pop singer with comments and memes – however, a number of other fans called it a ‘song of the summer’
‘Why is Rush by Troye Sivan so f**king good,’ yet another added.
Troye, who recently appeared appeared on HBO’s The Idol, is clearly excited about the new music.
Something To Give Each Other will be released October 13, five years after his last album Bloom.
In a recent Instagram post, Troye apologised for making his fans wait so long, writing: ‘I didn’t mean to take 5 years to make this album – Bloom tour happened (lmk if you came), then I started working on it, then c*ckbig19 (COVID-19).
‘Then The Idol, always working on the album in all the moments between… and now here we are. Enough excuses now. Enough saying ‘soon’, this is for YOU.’
Something To Give Each Other will be released October 13, five years after his last album Bloom. Pictured: Troye in Paris, June 2023
