Taylor Swift’s ‘Lavender Haze’ video features trans actor Laith Ashley
Everyone knew it was coming. After her new album “Midnights” dropped, it was no secret that there would be a music video release for “Lavender Haze”. Well, it’s finally here, and in true Taytay fashion, it dropped with quite an explosive bomb. The video features Taylor Swift herself, however this time, her love interest is played by trans actor Laith Ashley.
The LGBTQ+ community love Taylor Swift and she has proven over the years that she is nothing short of a staunch ally. At a time when the trans community is facing social and legislative discrimination all around the globe, but particularly in the United States, this inclusive move on Swift’s part is an epic statement and vital representation for the transgender community. 124 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced throughout America since the beginning of 2023, and it’s still January.
After holding his tongue for six whole months, as soon as the music video dropped, Laith Ashley took to his Instagram account to speak out on his inclusion in the video.
Watch the video here:
“Thank you @taylorswift for allowing me to play a small part in your story,” he wrote. “You are brilliant, and this is an experience I will never forget. It was truly magical.
“Your storytelling abilities through your music and visuals continues to leave me in awe, inspired, and hopeful. Thank you for being an ally and continuously using your platform for good. Representation matters. AND LOVE WILL ALWAYS WIN.”
In an interview with Elle Magazine, Ashley gushed over the attention he has received since the video was released, and just how important the representation is to the community.
“I’ve gotten thousands of messages from young trans people and trans people of all ages saying how important and how huge it is that someone with the platform that Taylor Swift has, especially in the times that we’re in now, used a trans man as her love interest. And she had multiple trans people in the party scene. There were people of all different backgrounds, sexualities, and identities,” he said in the interview.
When she dropped the video, in her own tweet, Swift told the world that she “absolutely adored working with” Laith Ashley.
Prior to working with Taylor Swift, Laith Ashley had shown up on the likes of FX’s Pose and RuPaul’s Drag Race.
