Laith Ashley, a transgender model, actor, singer, and activist, stars in Taylor Swift’s “Lavender Haze” video. He tells Bustle about what it was like working with her.
Celebrity
The transgender model opens up about working with Swift on set and what his casting could signify for trans communities.
With her new music video, Taylor Swift has proven her allyship. The Grammy winner cast Laith Ashley, a transgender model, actor, singer, and activist, in her “Lavender Haze” video, which premiered on Jan. 27. Many fans have praised Swift for casting a transgender man as her romantic lead at a time when trans people’s rights and protections are being threatened and revoked in several U.S. states. For Ashley, he thinks this simple yet significant representation can go a long way.
As Ashley tells Bustle, the increasing threat against trans communities is what makes his casting in Swift’s video so significant, especially given the clip’s pure and wholesome portrayal of love. “Having me be Taylor Swift’s love interest in this video, it seems so simple, but it’s two people loving each other and one of the people happens to be trans, and it doesn’t matter,” he explains. “Because at the end, I always say, ‘Love always wins.’ And why does it concern folks to that extent? That our existence becomes something that’s so threatening to yours when it’s not.”
Swift praised her onscreen love interest on Twitter, calling him “an incredible costar who I absolutely adored working with.” Ashley reciprocated the love on Instagram, describing his filming experience as “truly magical” and calling her an ally. “Your storytelling abilities through your music and visuals continues to leave me in awe, inspired, and hopeful,” he wrote. “Thank you for being an ally. Representation matters. AND LOVE WILL ALWAYS WIN!”
Below, Ashley opens up about working with Swift as a director, what led to his casting, and how he hopes it will change how many others view transgender people.
Ashley tells Bustle that when he first heard about Swift’s offer, he thought it was a prank. “My manager reached out and told me that Taylor wanted me in her music video and I thought it was a joke,” he recalls.
