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Troye Sivan Says He Didn't Think About Body Diversity In 'Rush' Video
“To be honest, it just wasn’t a thought we had," the pop star admitted.
After nearly a week of fans calling out Troye Sivan for only featuring thin bodies in his music video for his new single “Rush,” the Australian pop star has finally opened up about his choice of models.
Sivan’s ode to poppers was quickly dubbed a queer summer anthem alongside fellow Australian Kylie Minogue’s hit “Padam Padam.“ But while the song has been praised by fans and critics alike, the video has come under fire — especially from gay fans — for lacking body diversity.
The video is a celebration of queer party culture, with Sivan and a large group of friends kissing, gyrating, and pole dancing in various states of undress. And although there is racial diversity to be found, everyone in the video is either muscular or thin.
In an interview with Billboard the singer-songwriter admitted to not putting much thought into the body types of the models and dancers included in his music video. “I definitely hear the critique,” Sivan said. “To be honest, it just wasn’t a thought we had — 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.”
Not putting thought into something isn’t a great excuse for exclusion, but at least the “Angel Baby” singer was open to hearing the criticism.
Sivan also called out a Vulture article critical of the video, for insulting the bodies seen on screen, even his own. “There was this article … and they were talking about [the lack of body diversity], and in the same sentence, this person said ‘Eat something, you stupid twinks,'” he said. “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.”
“Rush” is the first single Sivan has released from his upcoming album Something to Give Each Other which is scheduled to drop on October 13. 2023.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
