Meghan Trainor's popularity is tied not just to her talent, but her identity as a woman who embraces her body — and encourages all girls to love their own. "All About That Bass" is an anthem to owning your booty and body as is ("I see the magazines working that Photoshop/We know that shit ain't real.") And Trainor's success defies the industry's expectations that our female pop stars be toothpick-thin. So while no young woman should be told their bodies aren't acceptable as is, the fact that she has now been the victim of photoshopping controversies twice in the past month is especially gross in its irony.
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After fans accused Seventeen of Photoshopping Trainor's April cover last month, Trainor has removed her brand-new music video for "Me Too" because of egregious digital altering. "I took down the ‘Me Too’ video because they Photoshopped the crap out of me,” she explained to her fans in a Snapchat video on Monday. “And I’m so sick of it and I’m over it, so I took it down until they fix it." She went on to question why her natural proportions weren't good enough. "My waist is not that teeny, I had a bomb waist that night. I don’t know why they didn’t like my waist, but I didn’t approve that video and it went out for the world, so I’m embarrassed."
Trainor also talked to USA Today about the shocking incident, which she calls the worst one in her career. At first, Trainor thought that the fans tweeting screenshots at her were Photoshopping them. “I saw fans posting it and was like, ‘Why are fans ruining my waist? Are you kidding?’" she says. "Then I went to the video and was like, ‘Oh my god.’ I texted the editors like, ‘I never asked you to touch my waist. I want my waist back." Juxtaposed with the lyrics of the song — "Who’s that sexy thing I see over there/That’s me standing in the mirror" and "I can’t help loving myself" — the Photoshop job is especially sickening.
The 22-year-old also appeared alongside Chloë Grace Moretz on Watch What Happens Live! Monday night. When Andy Cohen asked about the controversy, Trainor took the opportunity to ensure people she was indeed proud of her real body. "Hold up, bring the cameras back to this beautiful waist," she said, standing up to show off her natural curves.
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The Grammy-winner said that after demanding the video be removed, she got the ball rolling on a revamp. "I called the gods of Vevo and I said, ‘Take that down now.’ But I fixed it, I approve a new version and it's coming out like tomorrow morning." Trainor held true to her word — this morning, a revised video appeared on her channel, with Trainor's body gloriously intact. (Skip to the two-minute mark to see her real waist.) Bravo, Ms. Trainor.