A video stopped me mid-scroll this morning: ‘Taylor Swift is pregnant – that is a baby bump!’ it declared, along with footage of the singer performing on her Eras tour in a black and red sequin bodysuit. It’s not the only similar post doing the rounds on TikTok and Instagram of late, and, erm, sorry… but haven’t we all seen these rumours circulate (and die) about TayTay countless times before? Why are there still people who struggle to grasp that it is deeply uncool to comment on a woman’s body in this way?

We’ve heard directly from Swift in her documentary, Miss Americana, just how much she has struggled with disordered eating and body image as a result of unnecessary comments from the public. She also expanded on those comments, during a chat with Variety while promoting the film, specifically addressing pregnancy rumours (which have dogged her since the age of 18; she’s now 34 – so almost half of her life then).

“I remember how, when I was 18, that was the first time I was on the cover of a magazine, and the headline was like ‘Pregnant at 18?’” the star recalled. “And it was because I had worn something that made my lower stomach look not flat. So I just registered that as a punishment.

And then I’d walk into a photo shoot and be in the dressing room and somebody who worked at a magazine would say, ‘Oh, wow, this is so amazing that you can fit into the sample sizes. Usually we have to make alterations to the dresses, but we can take them right off the runway and put them on you!’ And I looked at that as a pat on the head.”

Swift then went on to say how this praise/prying relationship the world has had with her body all culminated in unhealthy eating patterns, even leading her to “starve” herself before some shows and over-exercise.

Miss Americana first dropped back in 2020, meaning we’ve had an entire four years to wrap our heads around the fact it’s not even just uncool to run wild with pregnancy rumours, but actively harmful for Swift. As it would be for any other female celebrity (from the royals to actors, I can’t think of a single one who has managed to go without having someone zoom in on her abdomen and ask the question ‘baby?’).