Taylor Swift opens up about her past struggle with an eating disorder in new documentary

Taylor Swift
(Image credit: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)

Taylor Swift is opening up about her struggle to overcome an eating disorder after premiering a revealing new documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.

The new Netflix film about the pop star, Miss Americana, had its Sundance premiere on Thursday, and Variety reports it highlights Swift's past struggle with an eating disorder.

"I thought that I was supposed to feel like I was going to pass out at the end of a show, or in the middle of it," Swift says in the film.

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Swift explains that she used to list everything she ate and constantly exercised until she was down to a size double-zero, BBC News reports. She also says that there were times when she would see a "picture of me where I feel like I looked like my tummy was too big, or ... someone said that I looked pregnant ... and that'll just trigger me to just starve a little bit — just stop eating."

But now, Swift says she tells herself, "Nope. We don't do that anymore. We do not do that anymore because it's better to think you look fat than to look sick," per The Los Angeles Times.

Swift further opened up about her struggle in an interview with Variety, explaining she was unsure whether she wanted to talk about it in the documentary. But director Lana Wilson told Variety, "every woman will see themselves in that sequence. I just have no doubt."

Miss Americana, which also delves into Swift's decision to become politically outspoken in recent years, will debut on Netflix on Jan. 31.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.