Ruh-roh.
Taylor Swift has ruffled the feathers of a local New Zealand environmental body after a music video shoot that might have disrupted the habitat of a rare bird species native to the islands.
The singer, who kicked off the Oceania leg of her “1989” tour in Sydney on Saturday, had traveled to the picturesque New Zealand seaside town of Bethells Beach earlier this week to shoot a new music video, supposedly for the Harry Styles-inspired track “Out of the Woods.”
Taylor’s crew was given permission to have two vehicles on the beach, which is home to the endangered New Zealand dotterel, but reportedly brought a dozen vans and four-wheel drives instead, said Sandra Coney, the chairwoman of the Waitakere Ranges Local Board, part of Auckland’s municipal government.
“It’s really disappointing that such a large number of vehicles would park all over the beach and drive all over the beach,” Coney told Radio New Zealand.
“There are only 1,700 dotterels left in New Zealand. So it is a major concern for the board,” she continued. “We are trying to minimize vehicles on beaches for good reasons. Taylor’s lot did not respect the environment or the conditions of their consent.”
Cherokee Films, the production company in charge of managing the shoot, issued a statement apologizing for the incident and absolving Swift of any responsibility, according to Philly.com.
“Taylor Swift and her management team were in no way at fault and did not do anything that violated permits or ordinance… At no time were the film crew close to that habitat… No dotterel were harmed,” the statement read.
The company pledged to make a donation to the breeding program “in acknowledgment of the concern this has added to those in charge of protecting local dotterel population.”
This isn’t the first time Swift has attracted controversy for a music video. The video for her last single, “Wildest Dreams,” which was partly filmed in Tanzania, was accused of channeling white colonialism.
Tread carefully, Taylor.
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