Taylor Swift just cannot escape accusations of plagiarism.
Gurl was just accused last week of stealing the sound of her new single ME! from Emeli Sandé.
The sound of the “me” and the “ooh ooh” in Emeli’s Next To Me were a little too close for some people’s liking, plus they knew Taylor knew the song since she’d once invited the artist to perform it onstage with her.
Still, it wasn’t exactly a clear cut case and remains something of a controversy.
But just days later Taylor is already facing another musical scandal.
This time it’s about her live performance of her latest hit at Wednesday night’s Billboard Music Awards.
Taylor opened the show with a big entrance to the beat of a pink marching band drumline in a dazzling pastel spectacle. Collaborator Brendon Urie came in Mary Poppins-style on an umbrella. There were lights, fireworks, acrobatics…
But it was the marching band that stuck out like a sore thumb for some.
And by some we mean the Beyhive.
Beyoncé fans were in an uproar over the performance. Why?
Because their queen had just used a marching band last year in her Coachella performance!
Naturally fans were up in arms.
Not only did they feel like Taylor stole from Beyoncé, this was the second time in a week she was accused of taking something from a black woman — and fans felt like they were justified in calling out not just plagiarism but even cultural appropriation and gentrification.
And in no time at all the hashtag #Mayochella began trending.
See some of the strongest responses (below):
Yeah. Damn.
While it’s true both performances featured a marching band, something which isn’t wholly original but uncommon enough to be suspicious — there are a couple things to say in Taylor’s defense.
First, her song actually does feature a marching band. So the live version did make sense for it.
The second thing is, the ideas seem completely distinct. Beyoncé actually called her show Homecoming, and it was intended to evoke a high school experience.
Taylor’s song is a march to accentuate its celebratory, affirmative lyrics.
We aren’t saying she definitely didn’t copy Bey, but they do end up looking pretty different.
So we’ll ask again, Perezcious readers, what do YOU think of the #Mayochella controversy??
Did Taylor try to copy Beyoncé or what??
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