“Delete that. Those victims were children,” wrote one furious fan of Charli XCX after seeing one of the pictures of her latest photoshoot for New York Magazine by David LaChapelle, posted last Monday (August 27).
The image sees the English singer posing seductively on a stretcher in a red mini-dress while a doctor holds a cooler above her with her bloodied severed hand on it.
Highlights
- Charli XCX criticized for posing with a severed hand wearing Taylor Swift friendship bracelets.
- Photo shoot draws anger after the Southport attack at three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed class.
- Charli XCX's ongoing feud with Taylor Swift partially linked to the outrage.
The gruesome post drew the ire of netizens as, upon closer inspection, some noticed the limb had bracelets around its wrist that were very similar to the “friendship” bracelets Taylor Swift fans wear as part of her Eras Tour.
“After what happened in Southport … Charli XCX is disgusting for this,” ranted one viewer, referencing the horrifying murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class outside a mosque in that town.
English singer Charli XCX was slammed online over “disgusting” photo posing with a severed hand sporting Taylor Swift friendship bracelets
Image credits: New York Magazine
The crime was the inciting incident of violent protests that took place all across the UK last month after Alex Rudakubana, a 17-year-old choir member born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006, went on a murder spree.
The teenager claimed the lives of 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and he attempted to murder eight more children, their dance teacher Leanne Lucas, and a businessman named John Hayes.
Image credits: New York Magazine
Charli XCX has been known to have “beef” with Taylor Swift, as heard in her song Sympathy is a Knife, in which she takes a dig at the American songwriter.
“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s shows. Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick,” she wrote, hinting at the animosity between them, which surfaced during the time Swift was dating the 1975’s vocalist Matty Healy, a bandmate of Charli’s current boyfriend, George Daniel.
The attack sparked riots all over the country, with the resulting violence impacting every aspect of civilian life in the United Kingdom
Image credits: imalltoowell
The photoshoot comes in the aftermath of a particularly sensitive period for UK citizens, as similar images of real people having to get carried on stretchers were featured on the news as a result of the social unrest.
Britons are just coming out of a month of constant rioting that, at one moment, had the Metropolitan police anticipating more than 100 protests, with upwards of 30 taking place in a single day.
Image credits: SKIMS
The security efforts consisted of the deployment of at least 6,000 police officers across 39 cities throughout the country.
Intelligence officials also had to intercept the protesters’ social media communications in order to predict where and when further clashes might occur.
Businesses had to close and board their entrances in fear of criminals taking advantage of the chaos to loot and sack at their leisure.
‘Swifties’ were also recently under the sights of the Islamic State as two teenagers planned to bomb one of the stadiums where three Eras Tour shows were set to take place in Austria
Image credits: News sky
For Taylor Swift fans, the images are particularly sensitive not only because of the tragic murder of the three girls but also because attendees of an Eras Tour concert were almost victims of a terrorist attack.
Two teenagers were arrested in Vienna after authorities discovered they had planned to sneak a car full of explosives into the Ernst Happel Stadium, where three shows were set to take place.
Image credits: News sky
The two aspiring terrorists were confirmed to have ties to ISIS, and they had direct communication with members of the organization prior to their arrest.
After the cancellation, hundreds of Taylor’s fans congregated on Vienna’s streets to sing The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived in defiance of the terrorist threat.
“Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?” the song’s lyrics read.
Netizens were outraged by the photoshoot, labeling it as “tone-deaf” and “inappropriate” following the violent events that both UK citizens and Taylor Swift fans have had to deal with recently
Image credits: SKIMS
However, others speculated that it was done as a way to create buzz about an upcoming collaboration with Taylor Swift.
“The references to Taylor Swift in the article itself are teasing an upcoming remix of Sympathy is a Knife with Taylor,” speculated one user on Reddit. “That being said, yeah, the hand images don’t look so great in the context of Vienna and the UK knife attacks.”
“It's very tone-deaf regardless of the purpose,” another replied.
Comments on the original Instagram post also criticized the artist for her choice, with some also linking it to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
Image credits: charli_xcx
“An amputee photo? For real? Damn, you really don’t care about victims,” a user stated.
“Unbelievable, those children are dead. Delete that sh*t,” one demanded.
“Last pic couldn’t be more tone deaf, people are dying in wars all over,” said another.
"So offensive" While many of the singer's fans still reacted with excitement, others considered the photos to be in bad taste in light of recent events
