The director of Taylor Swift's Look What You Made Me Do music video has hit out at the clip's detractors, accusing its critics of sexism.

"If I plan something as a man, I'm a genius. If Taylor as a woman plans something, she is 'manipulative'. Double standards. This is wrong," Joseph Khan tweeted.

Swift's video, along with the single, has polarised opinion online, with critics labelling the clip "petty" and "calculated" for its headline-chasing, foe-bashing agenda.

The tongue-in-cheek video, filled with biting references to Swift's public persona, takes jabs at her media nemeses including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Katy Perry.  

It was also criticised for a scene that appeared to rip-off the clip of Beyonce's Formation.

Much like the video, Khan's defence has itself split opinion.

While Swift fans praised him for pointing out the unfair backlash against the singer, others said it was another example of Swift attempting to "play the victim" and sway public opinion.

Such a criticism was previously levelled at Swift after she hit out at Kanye West's "I made that bitch famous..." line from his song Famous: an infamously leaked Snapchat showed that Swift had okayed the line, leading to the singer being labelled a "snake" online.

The ongoing controversy hasn't affected the clip's numbers, though.

Following its release during Monday's MTV VMAs, the music video broke the record for most YouTube views within its first 24 hours, earning 43 million views and snatching the crown from Psy's Gentleman which had 36 million views in 2013.

It has also become the quickest video to reach 100 million views.

Khan, a veteran music video director who's helmed high-profile clips for the likes of Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, was previously responsible for Swift's internet-breaking Bad Blood and Blank Space videos.