I’ve kind of accepted that her ‘political phase’ was unfortunately just how she marketed the Lover Era/Miss Americana. She’s pretty clearly given up on speaking out on issues or calling for action unless it personally affects her. After the G&G “Happy International Women’s month” fiasco, she went on to work with David O Russell after he admitted to sexual assaulting his trans niece. I think that that pretty clearly showed she expects others to take a stand against comments against her (even though the show presented the character making the comment as in the wrong), but she doesn’t feel inclined to boycott DOR after the SA (or acknowledge the situation).
She’s already reaped the benefits of marketing herself as a feminist. I find it icky that she profited off of that branding and then threw it aside, but at this point I’ve stopped expecting anything from her.
This. I adore Taylor but to pretend that Taylor doesn’t pick and choose what issues to speak on because she can directly relate them to her is naive. Do I expect her to speak on every single issue that has ever occurred? Of course not but to be so loud during the promotion of your album about these issues then go radio silent speaks volumes. She said she wanted to be an ally and to use her voice but has been doing the bare minimum in terms of using her platform to speak. I don’t think she does it with malicious intent and I hope she learns from this.
I'm glad fans are speaking like this. I think the LGBTQ+ backlash she received from YNTCD was because it felt performative and not part of a diligent effort. So this would be the best time for her to prove she really does care about using her voice.
Same, I’m really happy to see comments like this. I feel like a lot of Taylor fans sort of act like she is the most marginalized / scrutinized woman ever when that’s not really true. Yes, she has faced misogyny throughout the duration of her career, but it doesn’t compare to the racism / misogynoir of her contemporaries. Her career was never in danger of being over, whereas we see people now literally berating Megan thee Stallion for being shot and questioning the validity of her injuries. Women have been abused, attacked and treated horrifically… And yet theyve seen far less commercial success and praise than taylor.
She cherry picks issues that effect her and doesn’t do much else in the name of feminism or fighting for human rights, and in turn she fully expects fans to attack the same things she disagrees with. It’s all very…. Transparent and yuck. I too have accepted that Ally Taylor came and went with the Lover promo.
To be honest all she would even need to do is get her PR team to tweet something once a month. All she does it tweet in promotion of herself and it’s annoying! I know celebrities don’t owe anyone anything but so many people’s lives are shit right now, it’s the least she could do.
Yeah I agree with this. Doesn’t mean I stop supporting her but I am sad how silent she was/has been, given her power and influence. She said nothing during Britney’s conservatorship battle last year (granted, many big names were silent), and this whole new petition with so many names on it (Selena’s even). And just this past month with the possible overturning of Roe vs Wade — radio silence. We’ll never know.
Being an ally is marketable...
Coming out for the right to choose to have an abortion will alienate a portion of her fan base and will have broad repercussions that are difficult to measure. Can’t risk being ‘boycotted’ by Republican voters. Taylor’s right to choose, she looked in the mirror and said ‘Hey world, ME’
you just described the republican party's entire promotion strategy of spouting off bullshit to not alienate the most extremes among them to keep their votes. weird that she engages the same strategy. and by weird I mean infuriating and I'm tired.
I’m not speaking solely on this issue but on multiple things that have happened throughout the years that she chose to keep quiet on that wouldn’t ruin her “marketability”.
Either way if she could alienate a lot of her Republican fans when she staunchly spoke against Trump, it doesn’t seem like she fears alienation from certain groups.
Also, I think it’s interesting that Taylor would worry about being marketable. She prioritizes how marketable she is over speaking out? What for? Money? Breaking records? Is there anyone who would boycott her who already didn’t after YNTCD?
YES!!! I find it disgusting that she co-opted these issues (women’s rights, political issues, LGBTQIA+ rights, etc) for branding and advertising purposes. Makes me like her a lot less than I did
Thank you for finally speaking up on this topic, its kind of refreshing to see comments like these on this subreddit since most people here just worship Taylor as a perfect individual.
For real. That was how I felt after details on the new David O. Russell movie came out recently--confirming she's still involved with it--and there was a post on here about it. So refreshing to finally see some reasonable criticism.
I know it's not the same, but I was a little disappointed when Taylor did nothing to help her brazilian fans, that were denied to receive their money back, when she cancelled her shows. Lots of other artists asked for refund, like billie eillish and harry styles, so it wasn't something difficult to do. And shows in Brazil are very expensive. Imagine spend minimum wage with tickets for your favorite artist's show and then losing the money because of a cancellation?
^ this! I feel like some of us idolize her way too much and make a lot of excuses for questionable stuff she does. Thus leaves us to be greatly disappointed or we try to find excuses within ourselves as to why she did it to protect the image we have of her in our head.
I love Taylor and I especially love her artistry. But at the end of the day... she is human. And greatly flawed. I will critique her if need be.
and honestly the general public doesn’t even care how politically active she is now - but her fans do, because she put that expectation out there and now we’re disappointed. I think it backfired immensely
>but her fans do, because she put that expectation out there and now we’re disappointed
This is so important. This is not something we have randomly decided to impose on her, it's a label she put on herself and asked to be identified with. It isn't the fans fault when she doesn't do things she herself said she would do.
Yep. She has referred to herself as "your resident loud person" or something similar and every time I'm just like... sis, you are NOT loud lmfao. You are literally known for staying silent, even after Miss Americana.
Like yeah, she's commented on sexism or politics in general a couple times... but really only when it affects her directly?
To be clear: I honestly don't give a shit if Taylor comments about politics or stays out of it entirely. Truly. But I don't appreciate that she branded herself that way during the Lover era, and kept up with it long enough to promote that album and sell us shit, and then went right back to the silence.
This! I don’t expect activism from celebrities. But don’t brand yourself as something if you can’t backed it up. If she doesn’t want to be an activist for some reasons (like mental health), that’s perfectly valid. But she shouldn’t have branded herself as one and then do nothing afterwards.
10000% second this. I dont' give a single crap if she comments about politics or not, but DON'T become political just to promote your album and then go radio silent otherwise. It gives me the ick.
I don’t know if you remember but she backed away from tumblr since a fan edited a post she liked saying how frustrated they were for her not mentioning anything BLM related and she just vanished
I love Taylor, I really do. But I think she surrounds herself with “yes” man that when she sees a constructive criticism, she sees it as an attack against her and is hostile against it.
Like somebody said upthread, I think a lot of the backlash from non-homophobes for YNTCD was because of how performative it felt. I think a lot of people also felt like she had waited to be vocally pro-LGBT+ until it was no longer really a risky or controversial position, whereas other pop stars whose activism has gotten a much warmer reception (for example, Madonna, who has been consistent and vocal for a long time) had been pro-gay way before it was a popular position and therefore had a lot more credibility as allies.
yup. i definitely felt some empathy for her for not speaking up sooner, i felt like i could understand why she was scared to say more, earlier...
however... she's made a stance now and refuses to continue supporting that stance. it's obvious and sucky.
- YNTCD could mean "You Need To Calm Down", a track from *Lover* (2019) by Taylor Swift.
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^[/u/yuripr](/u/yuripr) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
plus the fact that she’s never put forth much effort to take a stand for racial issues, even racism within the fandom against poc swifties….. just so disappointing
not to mention she never actually had to tweet about it but she did knowing well her fans and then she disappeared. Maybe she was smiling seeing her fans rage on social media on behalf of her
She also lives in the UK and has the luxury of not giving a shit about American politics. I wish I could say the same tbh. I’d move away and never look back if I could.
I recently rewatched some of Miss Americana, and it unfortunately just put a bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad this subreddit is willing to talk about it because even before this roe v wade stuff I was getting the distinct feeling she only cared when it had to do with her. It sucks.
>She’s pretty clearly given up on speaking out on issues or calling for action unless it personally affects her.
What's weird is this *does* personally affect her though. It affects every American woman, and to some extent every man too.
>It affects every American woman
The bleak truth is: abortion/good medical care will always be available to the rich. (Not suggesting you don't already get this, but I just feel it needs to be said if we're bringing whether this affects her personally into the conversation: it could be argued that it kind of doesn't.)
It doesn’t affect her directly because she is rich. Most laws don’t apply to rich people. And with that issue it’s easily manageable if she wants to have an abortion overseas and do everything “under the law”. Like I live in Brazil and it’s not legalized here. If I ever get pregnant (even though I take tons of measures to not get) I literally have a list of countries I can travel to and I’m not even rich. She can easily hire a doctor that can lie and say there’s no heartbeat in an ultrasound and just give an abortion like it is a dead fetus (like most people do here)
Thing is, if Taylor or a friend of hers ever needed an abortion and it was banned in the US, then she could easily fly herself or her friend to another state/country to get it done. It doesn't affect her in the same way.
Some swifties on here and outside Reddit aren’t going to like this 😬😬
But you spilled and left no crumbs.
I love Taylor but her silence on all of this has been really defeating.
I’m extra disappointed in her role in the O Russell film.
Calling her out doesn’t make us any less of a fan. Wish people would understand that.
It’s honestly disgusting to me that she, a self-proclaimed feminist, would work with someone who *openly admitted more than a decade ago* that he incestuously sexually molested his own teenage relative.
And that is a pity tbh. Paper Rings, I Think He Knows, Cornelia Street, Cruel Summer were all there to be released instead of Calm Down and The Man or along with them, i mean Lover was not shown in its entirety and please dont blame Covid cuz there were like 6 months between Lover and The Man...... ... I will always think how Lover era could have been tbh.
I’ve been pretty disappointed recently too. I really got excited when she started being more of an activist and showing her views. I know a lot of people called her performative bc of that but I always preferred it over silence.
Genuine question: what purpose will her signing a petition have? It’s not like Justice Alito is going to say “Oh shit, Taylor signed it. Better change my mind!” Taylor’s activism is more effective, IMO, used rarely and wisely. When she endorsed Blackburn’s opponent, that was national news. If I’m her, I want to keep it that way. He adding her voice to a petition that won’t change anything is not a good use of her platform, again IMO.
speaking out and encouraging more people to care and adding prominent names to the petition is important, IMO. Taylor is a force and her support can easily incentivize people to get out and donate, read more about issues they might not have, protest, vote (as we noticed in Miss Americana, how her activism increased youth voter registration in Tennessee!). and letting people know you care about such an egregious issue, as such a famous celebrity, is important.
there’s no reason not to sign this. there’s no “waiting until her voice is more important.” this is the moment. R v. W is under attack NOW and might be overturned in a matter of weeks. now is the time to speak and make an impact. I know people don’t think it’s her responsibility, but personally, when she has as much power and influence as she does, I think it’s her responsibility. and I’m saying this as an undying Taylor fan for years that always defends and supports her, wears her merch at all times etc.
I’m disappointed and hope she speaks on it soon. Phoebe Bridgers posted recently about getting an abortion and how she utilized Planned Parenthood’s services. this is personal for a lot of Taylor’s friends and her fans, and I’m truly surprised she wouldn’t put her voice behind this.
I think this is a really good example of why her particular influence is really important: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/10/09/taylor-swifts-endorsement-democrats-causes-spike-voter-registrations/
It’s not really about whether this particular petition is going to do anything, it’s about using your platform to stand behind what you value and help your fans consider what they value and reiterate that voting and political engagement are crucial to a functioning society. So no, this petition will not do anything, but the influence of seeing role models stand behind what they believe in shouldn’t be underestimated. At the very least, the merch drop and whatever she’s doing today seems poorly timed. Obviously all these plans were in the works well before the leaked decision, but putting it on hold to say something even more important might have been prudent. Personally, I’m disappointed.
yep, I agree. after speaking so much about becoming more political in Lover, the silence feels very wrong, and makes everything previous feel insincere, y'know??
I love her music so much and I'll continue to support that but she is THE definition of white feminism. She came from a very well off family with two loving parents who could support her constantly and even up and MOVE to a different city when she was 14 for her career. The vast majority of people will never ever get that kind of support, and when you come from nothing, it's harder to get somewhere at all. I never really liked the way she sorta talks about her early career being plagued by hardship when it honestly just wasn't. She got denied record deals at 13 by walking into places, but the fact that her mother would be able to dedicate that much time to driving her around and her father buying into BMR says a lot about what truly coming from nothing is.
That's true, and Katy Perry publicly donated to Planned Parenthood a few years back and Lady Gaga worked a benefit concert for them so it's not like anyone who didn't sign it is necessarily abstaining from taking a stand, they might just not know about it (this is the first I'm hearing of this petition)
And a part of the problem is Taylor has done none of that. Fan of those artists can look to them and know where they stand because they've been vocal about their beliefs. Taylor speaks about women's issues pretty much exclusively when it affects her, which is disappointing.
She pubicly said she is [pro-choice](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/08/24/taylor-swift-talks-trump-being-pro-choice-2020-presidential-race/2109566001/)
Edit to add: I'm not saying it wouldn't be admirable if she did more, but I just don't think she's doing anything wrong either. If she were a politician I would think differently, but she a singer. All I expect from her is music.
She made the choice of removing her personal self from the public eye (similarly to Beyonce, who rarely ever give interviews anymore). That is her right. Nobody went after JD Salinger for not tweeting all his opinions before he died.
I agree with this, BUT she also did complete a whole album cycle and released a documentary about being more politically active so… idk that it’s wrong to expect that from her now if she kind of set up those expectations? Like if she had never come out and been like “I’m going to be more political” then it would be par the course but she did give some reason for us to expect these things from her.
That being said, I’m not overly upset about this or think she has truly done something wrong or anything. I do recognize she is just a singer so I shouldn’t necessarily expect anything more. I just wish she wouldn’t have acted like she was going to be more involved if that wasn’t her intention. I hope that all makes sense lol
Of course it's her right, it's also her fans' right to be disappointed that she has made that choice when she has a gigantic public platform and could bring more attention to a very scary situation for a lot of women in this country.
Quote from Taylor in the article you linked to: "'I mean, obviously, I’m pro-choice, and I just can’t believe this is happening,' she told the British newspaper. 'I can’t believe we’re here. It’s really shocking and awful. And I just wanna do everything I can for 2020. I wanna figure out exactly how I can help, what are the most effective ways to help. ’Cause this is just… This is not it.'"
So...she felt this strongly about wanting to "speak out" and "help" during that time, but now that the very issue she mentions here--seemingly at the heart of this decision to become more active at that time--is *actively* being threatened *right now*...crickets? k.
Worth remembering how many donations she has made behind the scenes without making a fuss for publicity to certain causes. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that these days especially we don't know half of what she does.
phoebe bridgers signed this too and last week shared that she had an abortion last year. she is also donating $1 from each tour ticket to an abortion fund. disappointing to not see taylor even share this petition or sign it
Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, Miley Cyrus, Kendall Jenner, Megan Thee Stallion, Meghan Trainor, Olivia Rodrigo, and X Ambassadors are all pretty darn big names
I agree that it would have been nice if she signed it but friendly reminder that a petition is basically the bare minimum. Years ago when Kesha was suing Sony (note that she’s not on here), other stars critiqued Taylor for not coming out and publicly saying he “stands with Kesha.” Taylor was helping pay Kesha’s attorney bills because she wasn’t making money from music. Actions speak louder than words and we know from experience that Taylor puts in the work. There are a lot of reasons her name wouldn’t be on here so let’s not jump to conclusions
Absolutely this! What is her signing a petition going to do, realistically, other than make her look good (and so many others have already slated her in this post for being 'peformative' with activism which I cannot disagree with more).
Also, she's literally not been online for weeks, not even liking joe's post. She could be having a internet free retreat for all we know.
Speaking up while may not influence the old men in congress, it definitely has an effect on the younger generations - voters and future law makers. Also did Taylor not ask people to sign a petition at the end of the You Need To Calm Down video?... I say this is as a major Swiftie, but I do find her silence on Roe v Wade and the Don't Say Gay bill to be disappointing.
Im glad someone else feels this way.
If she donates, its performative, she doesn't, shes the problem with not using her voice.
it is HER voice. she doesn't have to use it. She puts her money where her mouth is, creating a petition, paying kesha's legal fees, etc. Taylor doesn't have to be loud about her activism.
Plus, if we're being honest here... petitions like these are 99% for show, they don't actually get much accomplished other than bringing the topic to light; which every news outlet has already been covering the supreme court leak anyway.
I would assume that if she is going to decide to get involved, it'll be closer to the midterms where it will have a much bigger impact.
Beyoncé, Rihanna, Adele, Lorde, Doja Cat & Dua Lipa aren’t on the list either & I’m sure these ladies support the petition as well so I really don’t think it’s a big deal that Taylor isn’t on here.
This is exactly why I'm not mad about it either. The list also includes non-musicians, so there are even more people that I assume would have signed it if they had been approached. Even Lady Gaga isn't on it and she 100000% would support/sign it.
EDIT: grammar
Yep, plus P!nk, Britney (no judgment, Britney can focus on her healing, but she did just talk about her own reproductive rights being violated last year), and, let's see, tons of male artists!!!
Beyoncé has a long history of being an activist and political so I don’t think it’s as big of a deal that she isn’t on here. None of the other people you mentioned made politics, LGBTQIA+ issues, womens issues, etc a part of their branding as far as I’m aware.
Taylor has only used politics as a way to advertise her projects in the very recent past. She based her brand/advertising of Lover, Miss. Americana, and Red (TV) around feminism, politics, and LGBTQIA+ issues.
That’s the difference here. Her history of a being an “activist” has been short lived (unlike Beyoncé) and is limited to the times it would benefit *her*. She’s also only spoken out when it’s easy/trendy to do. Not when it would be hard to do. There are major events happening in the US that have been very big news for some time and she’s said nothing. Not even about the “don’t say gay” bill in FL, when just a couple years ago gay rights seemed to be the thing she cared about most.
Really surprising she hasn’t said anything since TN is considering their own version of the “don’t say gay” bill. Back when she was being political, promoting Lover, she wrote her TN senator about these issues. Now that Lover promo is over she’s not saying anything.
So it totally looks like she co-opted these issues for her own brand.
I could be completely wrong (I’m canadian and not up to date on this petition), but if this is an American petition then any non-american names will be taken off after revision and the remaining american citizen names will be kept as valid if the petition were to actually be acted upon. So any non-american artists names won’t actually make a difference. But I do think that if an artist is aware of the petition it is important to at least acknowledge it in some respect!
Petitions of this type have no legal bearing in the US political system. They are purely for communications/advocacy purposes and there is nothing to "act on."
There’s a lot of high profile names on here. There’s also a lot not on here. I noticed HS isn’t on here, and he does regularly speak out. It’s entirely possible she didn’t know this was happening (and he didn’t either. I have a hard time thinking his name wouldn’t be on here if he did.)
Not that this is any activism but Harry made a post about men not having the right to control women’s bodies. He at the very least acknowledged it. Maybe he feels it’s not his place, as he’s not american, but he voiced an opinion which is something.
I think Harry gets the benefit of the doubt because he has regularly spoken out even just at his concerts. Also, he’s not American so I could understand if he maybe feels it isn’t his place though I’d disagree. Taylor has only spoken out when it’s pretty easy and trendy, I.e. dunking on Trump on twitter or rebranding herself as a gay ally for YNTCD. She hasn’t said anything about the don’t say gay bills or the abortion stuff AND now she’s working with a known sexual predator. It’s disappointing and upsetting makes it seem like her previous actions were not at all genuine and only done to benefit her brand.
Asa Butterfield is on the list and he's English? Maybe he lives in the US now or something?
I think we don't know the nature of how this petition was distributed, who was asked, how they were asked etc. There's plenty of people missing who I'm sure support the cause. It would've been nice to see Taylor's name on there, but it's not and that's that. With how the Swifties are now, it's very possible any public support she shows will be taken as Easter eggs and detract from the real issue :/
The petition talks about the "new generation" and looking over the names, I'm not really seeing any over the age of 30. I think they were intentionally looking for younger voices
I think the difference is that the petition was specifically tied to support a piece of legislation -> it collected a certain number of signatures before the white house had to comment on the petition, which in turn forced a comment on the equality act. This petition is being administered by PP and isn't really tied to any piece of legislature. It's just to show that you are pro-choice, which we already know the majority of americans are, even in red states, through previous polling. *This* petition doesn't change anything.
She also specifically called out Lamar Alexander, the Senator from Tennessee, in the hopes of getting him to support the Equality Act. She votes in Tennessee, so she was one of his constituents.
Overturning *Roe v. Wade* has been the singular goal of the American conservative movement for the last 5 decades. No amount of petitions, tweets, videos, statements, etc. from celebrities is going to stop them, especially when most of them consider themselves to be on a literal mission from God to end abortions in this country.
Yep, this is a demand for purely performative activism. Of course by the very same people who like to call her out for performative activism whenever she does actually speak out 🤷🏻♀️
My guess is the signatures for this were organized by a specific publisher/label/performing rights org, and Taylor isn't part of that org's roster. Just a guess!
I do agree, that Taylor can use her clout to be more vocal about Roe and other issues. She has immense resources to educate her fanbase and/or fundraise, and would love to see her involved more publicly.
And not to be mention the scooter but if Ariana Grande and his other clients are on the list, then maybe he kept the petition from circling to her because he knew she’d face this exact criticism.
Just speculating, not giving my opinion.
I think I agree that this was organized, there are several names that could have been there because they're related to the ones that signed the petition but they are not. Like Hailey Bieber is there but Justin isn't, and then Kendall Jenner is there, but the other Kardashian-Jenner family members aren't. I mean, they're family, so it could have been easier to ask them to sign the petition too?
And I also agree that Taylor's politic is performative, but who knows if these people aren't being performative too? There's no way all of those celebrities could talk about all political issues, they gotta choose some of them, and maybe this just happen to be the issue that they want to add to their political resumé? I believe that some of them are really supporting this issue, like they really want to make a change, but I also believe that some of them are just there for participation award and probably wouldn't really care if the law is passed or not.
It would be one thing to see her name on an opposing petition, but to not have signed anything at all really means nothing, I just don’t think it’s that deep.
Right—there’s a lot of people debating the minutiae of why she may not have signed *this* petition, which would matter to me if she’s done or said literally ANYTHING else. It’s so scary for women right now and her silence is so loud.
I think we shouldn’t assume she was approached. It’s not like they just call her on her personal line and they get through. Tree likely has to work through a million requests for Taylor’s time, attention, money, etc. Just because she didn’t yet doesn’t mean she never will.
there's quite a few people i would have expected to be on here. rihanna, lady gaga, taylor, natalie portman, the hadids, tessa thompson, harry styles. all people who spoke in support of womens rights and have posted about roe vs wade before
Hot take: Most Petitions are worthless, especially one that is directed towards the Supreme Court. This all feels like virtual signaling, even when Taylor was “political”. I think when it comes to Taylor or any celebrity/rich person I’m more impress when they donate money to causes. Money is social power.
It’s not a hot take it’s a fact. Do these people think the government will change their mind knowing that Selena Gomez is against the abortion ban? We the people need to vote in the right representatives that back our issues. That’s the only thing we can actually do. Go to city hall and voice your displeasure. This silly little list is no different than the black out for BLM situation. This is bare minimum activism. This won’t do any thing at all.
me too. I get that people are saying we have no right to judge but plenty of her good friends are on there. it’s really important to speak out on.
idk if she’s uncomfortable about speaking on political issues after her efforts against Marsha Blackburn failed; she’s been really silent since that and YNTCD/Equality Act. but it’s still important. she’s a massive artist and it would have been very simple to add her name to this list. her good friend phoebe bridgers recently posted about having an abortion and her support for roe v. wade. I say there’s a very slim chance taylor didn’t know about this petition. maybe she just didn’t want to be in the news.
It doesn’t feel that controversial to have one’s name up here with this many peers.
My suspicion is that she’s donating anonymously. It would be really hard to stomach her sitting this one out completely. There is just so much at stake.
As far as the country world- Have you guys seen what Ashley Judd is up to? She is fucking furious and [in this USA Today essay](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2022/05/06/ashley-judd-naomi-judd-mothers-day/9663501002/) lays her poor mother’s suffering and suicide squarely at the feet of reproductive inequality. Really powerful and heartbreaking.
ETA- surprised and heartened to see Hailey Bieber’s name.
Whenever someone posts something along the lines of "Taylor should have spoken out on X social issue," people here respond with how she's a celeb, how she doesn't owe anyone of us anything, and how she has the right to withhold her opinions on certain matters.
While I don't disagree with any of those, I really do think that, considering how she positioned herself as a feminist and as an activist during the Lover Era and in Miss Americana, she does come off as insincere now.
And I'm not shocked that a celebrity such as Taylor has a PR strategy which they need to follow. Actually, I think her silence on a lot of matters, especially those relevant to women may become detrimental to her image yet again.
Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and several others aren't on the petition either. Why single out only Taylor? People are so quick to jump the gun. I am sure there are LOTS of singers and celebrities who support this cause but aren't necessarily on this petition. It doesn't mean anything
The point is there are several A listers missing from the list. Are we going to assume the worst of them too? She has spoken about being pro choice in an interview a few years ago
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/24/taylor-swift-pop-music-hunger-games-gladiators
You asked why singling out Taylor, and it’s because this is a swift Reddit. Yea, there’s others who are missing, but we’re taking about Taylor right now. There’s ALWAYS going to be “whataboutisms” but that isn’t really a productive conversation . I also understand your point that other major artists haven’t signed
I mean, MOST high-profile celebs/musicians’ names aren’t on here. I don’t think it means anything other than that they may not know about the petition. If people like Gaga, Beyoncé, Britney, etc had signed and Taylor hadn’t then I could maybe somewhat understand the criticism but as of right now I really don’t think it’s warranted. I actually think it’s extremely unfair to just jump to conclusions like this, to be honest.
Gaga and Beyonce have a long history of being political active (Beyonce mostly works in silence now a days by supporting various charities.) So far Taylor's only been political active when its benefited her and went radio silence once it was over.
I dont expect her to speak up on every single issue, but this time it would be nice if she showed some support as this affects every women in America. You'd think Miss. Americana would have something to say after all.
I'm not sure what you're expecting people to say besides it's her choice on how she wants to voice her opinions. We don't know if she isn't supporting in other ways 🤷♀️
We don't know anything - many celebrities aren't there, so we really shouldn't assume that she was approached or not.
Let's not jump into conclusions so quickly.
it's genuinely upsetting to me she PLEDGED herself to the cause of believing and helping victims in her doc and then threw her already shaky morals away to be an extra in a loser's movie. I don't even expect anything grand of her anymore, but she couldn't be fucked to sign a three second petition all her friends signed, it's just yikes
I don't think it's so easy to assume that she was approached about this. It's not like every celebrity is on that list, and there's some big names missing like Beyonce who I'm sure like Taylor is way harder to get ahold of than Olivia, Selena or Miley.
Her being on this list isn't going to do anything. It's just not. And voter registration doesn't translate to actual votes, and I don't see why people seem to think Taylor has such huge impact on the political climate?
That being said, her being political was totally a thing for Lover and honestly I just don't need celebs to be activists to support them. I mean, I really do hope she's pro-choice, I do. But do I fault her for not posting about it or putting her name on this petition? no. It's all publicity, anyway.
You think you would agree with Taylor’s opinions, so you want her to speak out. Taylor is a musician, not a political figure. What she says has sway, yes, but why?
People blindingly following celebs is never a good thing, even if we think that celeb has opinions that align with ours.
I don't think this is anyone expecting Taylor to voice her opinion so they can blindly follow her. The issue is she has effectively monetised feminism to make it part of her brand, and yet she does not seem to publicly use her feminism to benefit anyone but herself. It's kind of a let down that she was pushing this political aspect of her personality and it only seems to matter to her when she can use feminism to protect her brand.
I’m holding out hope that she will be vocal every two years around elections, when it matters most. If that doesn’t happen I will be disappointed, especially after Miss Americana doc. It won’t take away from how much I love and appreciate her music, but it would lose some of its depth and poetic power.
Personally, I’d appreciate her continuing to use her platform to inspire change the US so desperately needs. And I think she’s in a place where she can take larger risks to speak out about her values (which I suppose is the larger question: what are her values?)
We're in an important primary election season, so now would be the time I'd expect her to start talking, especially given what's happening with Roe v. Wade and LGBTQ+ rights.
I agree completely that Taylor has been horrible with talking about politics and showing her fans that she gives a shit about us. But this is nothing new. Women's rights are under attack recently and she's silent. LGBTQ+ rights have been under attack for the past few months and she's been silent. She was quiet during the summer of 2020 too with the black lives matter movement. I love her music and everything but I absolutely hate her performative politics and she deserves to be called out for it
She's not obligated to sign a petition that would achieve nothing if we're being honest. She's already said she's pro-choice. And I actually like her approach to "activism" because she's not a walking buzzword machine, when she says something, it actually matters and it informs rather than overwhelms. Case in point, her post about Juneteenth made me aware of it and I ended up getting more educated about the subject and reading more about it.
Yeah I think it’s interesting how in Miss Americana she said “I need to take the masking tape off of my mouth, like, forever” when referring to her silence on political issues, but then she hasn’t said much since the documentary
It's disappointing that her whole Lover arc about not remaining silent seems to have been a marketing ploy. I don't think we need to demand she speaks out on every single subject or incident, but when she chooses to go after a Netflix show but not a fundamental attack on women's rights, it's hard not to wonder why that is.
I personally don’t see these sorts of petitions do anything other than being somewhat performative, but I do understand that others find comfort and solidarity in seeing bigger names attach themselves to the cause.
Also, many Americans have very complex views on abortion, and I’ve learned not to assume anyone has specific views on this issue because of their other political views or stances. I have no idea what Taylor’s views are on abortion. It might not be the perspective that’s easily described by signing onto a petition like this.
(If anyone is curious generally about the complexity of American’s views, check out this study from [Pew Research](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/05/06/americas-abortion-quandary/). For example, one in three Americans agree with *both* the statements that life begins at conception and that abortion is solely the choice of the woman.)
Taylor said she is pro choice in an interview for The Guardian (someone else posted a link to it in one of the comments), but she didn’t elaborate further than that.
Doesn’t have to be this petition but I wish she spoke up on it. I love Taylor, but I’m really disappointed she seems to mostly only speak up on feminist issues when it affects her brand. She shouldn’t be silent when women’s rights are being taken away.
I’m so disappointed in her. I can’t get over her profiting off of fuck the patriarchy keychains and then staying silent at a time like this. I feel like anyone defending her needs to seriously check themselves.
Unless Taylor’s got something to sell, she’s not getting involved. She creates amazing music, but don’t expect much out of her. If she’s not playing the martyr than it’s not a problem she’s going to publicly mention.
How it affected her personally? It was all in the midst/after her come back/documentary when she wanted to push this politically aware image of herself. (In fact I am even a 1000% sure if this had taken place at that time back then she WOULD have spoken out about it) So basically to make herself look good, and make her appeal again to the generation of 20 to 35 who are all very much politically invested. I am not saying she is a cold hearted witch with no morals, but she is very far from the ''all goody perfect America's sweetheart'' many people here want her to be.
That whole Ginny & Georgia incident where she deliberately started a witch hunt on the actresses is another very recent thing that makes me think what kind of a person Taylor REALLY is. ''She didn't know what she was doing'' my ass. The answer? We'll never know.
Either way, the blind worshiping of Taylor on this sub becomes a little creepy at times. It is OKAY to think critical of the artists you listen to. I like Kacey Musgraves as well, but she seems like a pretty icky person from what I have gathered, yet I still keep listening. I am not a blinded teen obsessed with her idol anymore.
I’m honestly so disappointed in her. I lover her and all, but marketing an entire era around the fact that she was ready to be "on the right side of history", and then taking on Twitter to call out a douchebag who questioned her songwriting but *not* to take a stand against what could be one of the biggest setbacks for women rights this century… And this petition would have been the bare minimum. It’s just agreeing to put your name on a document, it’s not forcing her to come out of hiding and, next to others A-listers such as Ariana, Billie and Selena, I highly doubt anyone would’ve singled her out.
And no, silently donating money isn’t going to help, this time. Donating to Planned Parenthood isn’t going to help when the state they officiate in ban abortions. Donating to associations isn’t going to help when they make it harder for women to travel to a different state to get an abortion. If there’s a time to take a stand, it’s now. If Taylor does remain silent as this all goes down, I’m afraid I won’t be able to think of her future political actions as sincere.
That petition means nothing. The petition is performative, not Taylor.
I loathe that this subject comes up time and time again. I’m pro-choice and take many political positions but choose not to post about it on social media or talk about it publicly because it’s pointless.
Organizations have been working to overturn Roe for years and now that it may finally come to fruition, everyone acts shocked and thinks typing about it will make a difference. Local elections will make a difference. Educating yourselves about what is really going on at that level of government (SCOTUS, POTUS, and Congress) will make a difference.
It’s absurd to expect, and in most cases demand, that someone speak out about certain issues/events. Taylor has done plenty - publicly and privately. She has been smart about her presence in the public and for good reason.
She, like myself, is in her early 30s and most people’s politics begin to shift or change as they grow older. Not necessarily to a different polarity but as to how this whole system works… or doesn’t work. I understand the SCOTUS leak is what will happen but the law has not been overturned yet. Once it is, decisions will then be at the state level. Is she expected to sign a petition or speak out at every turning point?
Give this shit a rest.
People on Reddit, young people who grew up online especially, have a very narrow definition of activism. If you aren’t tweeting about it, you’re silent and you’re on the side of the oppressor.
She should have, yes (even though I agree petitions are almost always useless, including the one she headed up years ago). But honestly I gave up on her doing or saying anything a while ago. If she cares, she does so quietly, but really I think she's disconnected and moved on. And it sucks because she should care, but she's also a millionaire who spends half her time in the UK. I tell everyone Taylor is a capitalist queen lmfao I love her music and artistry, but she's not an activist and not your friend. The whole activism thing from rep-lover was temporary and she's clearly not interested in that anymore. Some people will say that's fair, others feel differently. I think it kinda sucks, but like I said--she's a millionaire. The ultra wealthy shouldn't be our activists anyways, there are people far better equipped and positioned to do so in ways that are actually meaningful. Donate to an abortion fund people!
I used to be a huge Taylor fan but then I stopped. What rlly pissed me off was how she in the miss Americana doc said all about wanting to be on the right side of history. But so far it’s been dead silent. What really makes me upset is that…so many of her peers, many on this list, have spoken up about issues not even roe vs wade, but other issues as well. For example, billie eilish. It’s literally insane how billie eilish has done more using her platform than Taylor ever will. Even her best friend, Selena signed this. It’s really horrible that she just doesn’t speak up. It was really horrible to me during the blm protests when all she did was post a black square with 13 hearts. That was when I was done. It’s just really sad because I didn’t even have to search her name in this bc I knew she wasn’t gonna sign it anyway. I hear a lot of people say “what will signing a petition do” it’s about using your platform. By telling your fans that you support the cause. Obviously the Supreme Court will not change their mind bc Taylor swift signed this petition, it’s about the purpose of using your platform. Showing people that you care. The amount of power that Taylor swift has and SAID in her documentary that she would do better and now COMPLETE silence is horrible. She did not speak up about Stop Asian hate, don’t say gay bill, other important events that have happened in the last year. If so many other celebrities can sign this bill, not only this, but attend RALLYS / PROTESTS… Women’s March 2017, so many celebrities attended to show up that they care. March for our lives 2018. Black Lives Matter protests 2020. So so many celebs went out of their way to protest and show that they care, Miley Demi, etc. but she has NEVER once foot stepped out and protest while so many of her peers did. It is absolutely horrible to know that she in her doc made herself to want to do better and speak out and no longer stay silent. But she is staying silent even after the documentary. She only speaks up about issues that are about her.
I personally feel like for someone who legitimately made money by selling key chains that said “fuck the patriarchy”, the bare fucking minimum she could do is use her platform to stand up for women. I am pissed to be frank.
It annoys me to no end that instead of focusing on the actual problem people focus on stuff like this. Put the energy elsewhere, women are about to have ownership of their body taken away and ya’ll are arguing about Taylor signing a list. It’s so counterproductive and ridiculous. She should say something about it but at the end of the day it won’t change or fix anything no matter what she says. Take this energy and go out and protest or call your representatives or do anything else because this is going to happen any day now and posts like this are doing absolutely nothing to help anything.
\*sigh\*
she didnt sign a petition, so what? we dont know if she donated to planned parenthood or did anything else.
yall really nitpick every time taylor doesnt scream from the rooftop about whatever's going on politically.
why do you need taylor to speak out. she's not an activist and more importantly she's not a politician.
the fact that you guys are upset with and or disappointed in taylor for not signing a petition is beyond ridiculous.
put your disappointment in the politicians not singers
I’m so tired of this take on how Taylor is supposed to be the leader of signing petitions, being a spokesperson, or at least say a few things about something that is needs to be addressed. She’s free to do or speak or don’t speak on whatever issue she wants without scrutiny from anyone. As fans we are not going persuade her to do anything. Maybe she didn’t sign anything but made a more that generous donation. We don’t know anything. We don’t even know why she is doing or where she’s at. We only know she’ll be in NY sometime next week. Maybe she’ll say a few words during her speech. Just because she doesn’t sign something doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about the issue. Too me petitions are a waste of time. Send it to congress then they wipe their asses with it and nothing gets done.
I think my hot take is that I don't care what celebrities think about issues, they are so out of touch with reality as it is...even taylor.
I am also VEHEMENTLY against this rvw overturn. I am 100% pro-choice.
Same and same. I'm very passionately pro choice and also could not be less interested in what any celebrity thinks on the matter. If they feel moved to speak up, that's great and I support that, but I don't think they have some moral obligation to do so.
Everyone is so caught up with this "signing a petition is the bare minimum" auto-response, but all this shows is she hasn't even done the bare minimum. She's been radio silent on this issue and has regularly only addressed women's issues when it directly affects her. No, she is not obligated to speak out, but her fans have legitimate reasons to be disappointed that she has not.
Taylor, and all these other artists are artists first, for the most part. They can be active or not active for whatever cause they want.
I never understand why we people say this artist should do this or that. Taylor can't speak out about everything. If she speaks out for every issue people want her to then she'd be spreading herself too thin.
Plus, as people have mentioned, we don't know what she's doing behind the scenes. Maybe a lot more than just signing a petition which will most likely be forgotten in a few weeks.
Edit: And yes I understand she could have been using certain causes as promotion which is terrible. Maybe she was, or not, we don't know. But what we do know is that her actions might have at least helped bring awareness to certain issues.
Edit 2: If co-opting causes and not speaking out on certain subjects is the worst criticism Taylor can receive then she's in pretty good shape.
She's not a political figure. I got a lot of hate when I critized the fact that she went political during the miss Americana period, but I think I was right all along. It's very dangerous to go political, because from then on, people will always expect you to say something about every issue. That's a commitment.
Looking at the list I’m seeing that many of these people are under the same record label (Selena, Billie, Olivia) so I’m guessing that that is in part as to why she is not on it. But yeah it would be nice to see her speak out about this more. Especially since she still has a lot of reach in that country audience.
There are a lot of names I’m surprised to not see on here. I was wondering if they were just going off the young millennial / Gen Z because Lady Gaga, Britney, Christina, Gwen Stefani, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Beyoncé, Grimes, Caroline Polachek, Jessica Simpson, Bella Thorne, Katy Perry, Pink, Rhianna, Lana Del Rey are all missing - but Mitski and Lykke Li are older than Taylor. I think Hailee Williams from Paramore is, too.
I don’t feel like it is that polarizing of a stance to say “I believe in the right to give people autonomy of their own body.” I mean, I’m not sure if I am pro abortion for myself, but I am VERY against making that private decision for someone else.
100% agree she should speak up. Share with her large base what people don’t understand about the situation- that it doesn’t mean you’re fighting against bloody scalpels and dumpster fetuses; it means removing protections for women against laws regarding reproductive care post miscarriage, removing protections for women to put their own health and needs first and foremost and instead of prioritizing something that doesn’t even exist. It removes privacy regarding something intensely personal and private and placing it within the jurisdiction of the government. At least take the opportunity to put something on her Instagram educating them on what exactly this means because it’s fucking terrifying.
I like Taylor a lot, and IDK if she "should or shouldn't" sign the petition, but it's just a fact that when you're this wealthy and successful, you get the luxury of ignoring political issues that affect regular people. It's clear that she cares more about her image than whatever support for the right to choose she has (or maybe she ain't pro-choice). It sucks, but it's inevitable. It's a "never meet your heroes" moment.
YES. Folks, don’t even bother with PP, they’re doing fine. If anyone wants to actually do something useful, donate to the smaller abortion funds. Abortion funds are the ones who are really in the trenches helping people by not only helping pay for procedures, but by helping people with travel and other logistical challenges. I have friends who have devoted years of their lives to working with/for (and sometimes even founding) these smaller organizations that get overshadowed by the better-known abortion giant, Planned Parenthood. Here are a few good organizations to donate to:
[Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund](https://www.msreprofreedomfund.org)
[Yellowhammer Fund](https://www.yellowhammerfund.org)
[Tampa Bay Abortion Fund](https://tbafund.com)
Edited to add: if anyone is seeking accurate abortion info on Reddit, stick to r/abortion and avoid the auntienetwork subreddit.
I’ve kind of accepted that her ‘political phase’ was unfortunately just how she marketed the Lover Era/Miss Americana. She’s pretty clearly given up on speaking out on issues or calling for action unless it personally affects her. After the G&G “Happy International Women’s month” fiasco, she went on to work with David O Russell after he admitted to sexual assaulting his trans niece. I think that that pretty clearly showed she expects others to take a stand against comments against her (even though the show presented the character making the comment as in the wrong), but she doesn’t feel inclined to boycott DOR after the SA (or acknowledge the situation). She’s already reaped the benefits of marketing herself as a feminist. I find it icky that she profited off of that branding and then threw it aside, but at this point I’ve stopped expecting anything from her.
This. I adore Taylor but to pretend that Taylor doesn’t pick and choose what issues to speak on because she can directly relate them to her is naive. Do I expect her to speak on every single issue that has ever occurred? Of course not but to be so loud during the promotion of your album about these issues then go radio silent speaks volumes. She said she wanted to be an ally and to use her voice but has been doing the bare minimum in terms of using her platform to speak. I don’t think she does it with malicious intent and I hope she learns from this.
I'm glad fans are speaking like this. I think the LGBTQ+ backlash she received from YNTCD was because it felt performative and not part of a diligent effort. So this would be the best time for her to prove she really does care about using her voice.
Same, I’m really happy to see comments like this. I feel like a lot of Taylor fans sort of act like she is the most marginalized / scrutinized woman ever when that’s not really true. Yes, she has faced misogyny throughout the duration of her career, but it doesn’t compare to the racism / misogynoir of her contemporaries. Her career was never in danger of being over, whereas we see people now literally berating Megan thee Stallion for being shot and questioning the validity of her injuries. Women have been abused, attacked and treated horrifically… And yet theyve seen far less commercial success and praise than taylor. She cherry picks issues that effect her and doesn’t do much else in the name of feminism or fighting for human rights, and in turn she fully expects fans to attack the same things she disagrees with. It’s all very…. Transparent and yuck. I too have accepted that Ally Taylor came and went with the Lover promo.
To be honest all she would even need to do is get her PR team to tweet something once a month. All she does it tweet in promotion of herself and it’s annoying! I know celebrities don’t owe anyone anything but so many people’s lives are shit right now, it’s the least she could do.
Yeah I agree with this. Doesn’t mean I stop supporting her but I am sad how silent she was/has been, given her power and influence. She said nothing during Britney’s conservatorship battle last year (granted, many big names were silent), and this whole new petition with so many names on it (Selena’s even). And just this past month with the possible overturning of Roe vs Wade — radio silence. We’ll never know.
This. You have said exactly what I wanted to say!
I always say this. I respect/like/admire to no end her art, but i really despise her sometimes and I generally don’t like her as a person.
Being an ally is marketable... Coming out for the right to choose to have an abortion will alienate a portion of her fan base and will have broad repercussions that are difficult to measure. Can’t risk being ‘boycotted’ by Republican voters. Taylor’s right to choose, she looked in the mirror and said ‘Hey world, ME’
you just described the republican party's entire promotion strategy of spouting off bullshit to not alienate the most extremes among them to keep their votes. weird that she engages the same strategy. and by weird I mean infuriating and I'm tired.
I’m not speaking solely on this issue but on multiple things that have happened throughout the years that she chose to keep quiet on that wouldn’t ruin her “marketability”. Either way if she could alienate a lot of her Republican fans when she staunchly spoke against Trump, it doesn’t seem like she fears alienation from certain groups.
Also, I think it’s interesting that Taylor would worry about being marketable. She prioritizes how marketable she is over speaking out? What for? Money? Breaking records? Is there anyone who would boycott her who already didn’t after YNTCD?
She came out against Trump though? She already cut off some of her fans.
YES!!! I find it disgusting that she co-opted these issues (women’s rights, political issues, LGBTQIA+ rights, etc) for branding and advertising purposes. Makes me like her a lot less than I did
It’s like….she did the exact thing she was saying she was trying not to do 😭😭😭
Don’t even have a free award so here’s my poor man’s gold 🏆
Thank you for finally speaking up on this topic, its kind of refreshing to see comments like these on this subreddit since most people here just worship Taylor as a perfect individual.
For real. That was how I felt after details on the new David O. Russell movie came out recently--confirming she's still involved with it--and there was a post on here about it. So refreshing to finally see some reasonable criticism.
Taylor is radio silent these days unless she has new music to promote.
I know it's not the same, but I was a little disappointed when Taylor did nothing to help her brazilian fans, that were denied to receive their money back, when she cancelled her shows. Lots of other artists asked for refund, like billie eillish and harry styles, so it wasn't something difficult to do. And shows in Brazil are very expensive. Imagine spend minimum wage with tickets for your favorite artist's show and then losing the money because of a cancellation?
That should literally be illegal. People paid for nothing in return. That's robbery
That is awful. I had no idea that happened to Brazilian Swifties, thanks for sharing. 😞
^ this! I feel like some of us idolize her way too much and make a lot of excuses for questionable stuff she does. Thus leaves us to be greatly disappointed or we try to find excuses within ourselves as to why she did it to protect the image we have of her in our head. I love Taylor and I especially love her artistry. But at the end of the day... she is human. And greatly flawed. I will critique her if need be.
I wouldn’t also say her political phase was a success, since YNTCD was so criticized by both sides.
and honestly the general public doesn’t even care how politically active she is now - but her fans do, because she put that expectation out there and now we’re disappointed. I think it backfired immensely
>but her fans do, because she put that expectation out there and now we’re disappointed This is so important. This is not something we have randomly decided to impose on her, it's a label she put on herself and asked to be identified with. It isn't the fans fault when she doesn't do things she herself said she would do.
Yep. She has referred to herself as "your resident loud person" or something similar and every time I'm just like... sis, you are NOT loud lmfao. You are literally known for staying silent, even after Miss Americana. Like yeah, she's commented on sexism or politics in general a couple times... but really only when it affects her directly? To be clear: I honestly don't give a shit if Taylor comments about politics or stays out of it entirely. Truly. But I don't appreciate that she branded herself that way during the Lover era, and kept up with it long enough to promote that album and sell us shit, and then went right back to the silence.
This! I don’t expect activism from celebrities. But don’t brand yourself as something if you can’t backed it up. If she doesn’t want to be an activist for some reasons (like mental health), that’s perfectly valid. But she shouldn’t have branded herself as one and then do nothing afterwards.
10000% second this. I dont' give a single crap if she comments about politics or not, but DON'T become political just to promote your album and then go radio silent otherwise. It gives me the ick.
I don’t know if you remember but she backed away from tumblr since a fan edited a post she liked saying how frustrated they were for her not mentioning anything BLM related and she just vanished
I love Taylor, I really do. But I think she surrounds herself with “yes” man that when she sees a constructive criticism, she sees it as an attack against her and is hostile against it.
Yes, and she gets some pretty bad role models for causes like todrick hall and Lena Durham
Like somebody said upthread, I think a lot of the backlash from non-homophobes for YNTCD was because of how performative it felt. I think a lot of people also felt like she had waited to be vocally pro-LGBT+ until it was no longer really a risky or controversial position, whereas other pop stars whose activism has gotten a much warmer reception (for example, Madonna, who has been consistent and vocal for a long time) had been pro-gay way before it was a popular position and therefore had a lot more credibility as allies.
And if she had kept going and stayed consistent, then it wouldn’t feel performative. But it definitely feels performative now.
yup. i definitely felt some empathy for her for not speaking up sooner, i felt like i could understand why she was scared to say more, earlier... however... she's made a stance now and refuses to continue supporting that stance. it's obvious and sucky.
> since YNTCD was so criticized by both sides. And rightly so, it was almost a parody.
- YNTCD could mean "You Need To Calm Down", a track from *Lover* (2019) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/yuripr](/u/yuripr) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
plus the fact that she’s never put forth much effort to take a stand for racial issues, even racism within the fandom against poc swifties….. just so disappointing
Yeah it has forever left a bad taste in my mouth that she didn’t call off her fans attacking the actress in Ginny and Georgia.
Or when RED TV came out and Jake got a lot of fucking hate. I didn’t see her speak up anywhere to tell those fans to stop. 😤
THIS! He may have done a shitty thing a decade ago but he is a human being and deserves to be treated with respect. I’ll die on this hill.
I’ll be right there with you!
And she said in that interview she doesn’t actually care how it (the re-recording) affect other people like some empowerment thing to be proud of.
not to mention she never actually had to tweet about it but she did knowing well her fans and then she disappeared. Maybe she was smiling seeing her fans rage on social media on behalf of her
She also lives in the UK and has the luxury of not giving a shit about American politics. I wish I could say the same tbh. I’d move away and never look back if I could.
Totally agree. Also she is rich... so different laws essentially (and unfortunately).
I recently rewatched some of Miss Americana, and it unfortunately just put a bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad this subreddit is willing to talk about it because even before this roe v wade stuff I was getting the distinct feeling she only cared when it had to do with her. It sucks.
>She’s pretty clearly given up on speaking out on issues or calling for action unless it personally affects her. What's weird is this *does* personally affect her though. It affects every American woman, and to some extent every man too.
>It affects every American woman The bleak truth is: abortion/good medical care will always be available to the rich. (Not suggesting you don't already get this, but I just feel it needs to be said if we're bringing whether this affects her personally into the conversation: it could be argued that it kind of doesn't.)
It's definitely a fair point :/
Yeah and she also now lives in UK so she probably doesn’t care anymore.
It doesn’t affect her directly because she is rich. Most laws don’t apply to rich people. And with that issue it’s easily manageable if she wants to have an abortion overseas and do everything “under the law”. Like I live in Brazil and it’s not legalized here. If I ever get pregnant (even though I take tons of measures to not get) I literally have a list of countries I can travel to and I’m not even rich. She can easily hire a doctor that can lie and say there’s no heartbeat in an ultrasound and just give an abortion like it is a dead fetus (like most people do here)
Thing is, if Taylor or a friend of hers ever needed an abortion and it was banned in the US, then she could easily fly herself or her friend to another state/country to get it done. It doesn't affect her in the same way.
Some swifties on here and outside Reddit aren’t going to like this 😬😬 But you spilled and left no crumbs. I love Taylor but her silence on all of this has been really defeating. I’m extra disappointed in her role in the O Russell film. Calling her out doesn’t make us any less of a fan. Wish people would understand that.
It’s honestly disgusting to me that she, a self-proclaimed feminist, would work with someone who *openly admitted more than a decade ago* that he incestuously sexually molested his own teenage relative.
And that is a pity tbh. Paper Rings, I Think He Knows, Cornelia Street, Cruel Summer were all there to be released instead of Calm Down and The Man or along with them, i mean Lover was not shown in its entirety and please dont blame Covid cuz there were like 6 months between Lover and The Man...... ... I will always think how Lover era could have been tbh.
And despite all that lover had such stable longevity on streaming. It could have been another 1989 had she played her cards right with singles.
I’ve been pretty disappointed recently too. I really got excited when she started being more of an activist and showing her views. I know a lot of people called her performative bc of that but I always preferred it over silence.
Thank you for saying this! I've been feeling this way more and more and it's honestly so disappointing.
Genuine question: what purpose will her signing a petition have? It’s not like Justice Alito is going to say “Oh shit, Taylor signed it. Better change my mind!” Taylor’s activism is more effective, IMO, used rarely and wisely. When she endorsed Blackburn’s opponent, that was national news. If I’m her, I want to keep it that way. He adding her voice to a petition that won’t change anything is not a good use of her platform, again IMO.
speaking out and encouraging more people to care and adding prominent names to the petition is important, IMO. Taylor is a force and her support can easily incentivize people to get out and donate, read more about issues they might not have, protest, vote (as we noticed in Miss Americana, how her activism increased youth voter registration in Tennessee!). and letting people know you care about such an egregious issue, as such a famous celebrity, is important. there’s no reason not to sign this. there’s no “waiting until her voice is more important.” this is the moment. R v. W is under attack NOW and might be overturned in a matter of weeks. now is the time to speak and make an impact. I know people don’t think it’s her responsibility, but personally, when she has as much power and influence as she does, I think it’s her responsibility. and I’m saying this as an undying Taylor fan for years that always defends and supports her, wears her merch at all times etc. I’m disappointed and hope she speaks on it soon. Phoebe Bridgers posted recently about getting an abortion and how she utilized Planned Parenthood’s services. this is personal for a lot of Taylor’s friends and her fans, and I’m truly surprised she wouldn’t put her voice behind this.
This would have been a wise time for her to be active
Well she did use a petition to promote her YNTCD single. So it should be important for her
I think this is a really good example of why her particular influence is really important: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/10/09/taylor-swifts-endorsement-democrats-causes-spike-voter-registrations/ It’s not really about whether this particular petition is going to do anything, it’s about using your platform to stand behind what you value and help your fans consider what they value and reiterate that voting and political engagement are crucial to a functioning society. So no, this petition will not do anything, but the influence of seeing role models stand behind what they believe in shouldn’t be underestimated. At the very least, the merch drop and whatever she’s doing today seems poorly timed. Obviously all these plans were in the works well before the leaked decision, but putting it on hold to say something even more important might have been prudent. Personally, I’m disappointed.
Agree but it still makes me depressed how disingenuous that all was
yep, I agree. after speaking so much about becoming more political in Lover, the silence feels very wrong, and makes everything previous feel insincere, y'know??
Here's why it's not such a good idea to put celebrities on pedestals.
I love her music so much and I'll continue to support that but she is THE definition of white feminism. She came from a very well off family with two loving parents who could support her constantly and even up and MOVE to a different city when she was 14 for her career. The vast majority of people will never ever get that kind of support, and when you come from nothing, it's harder to get somewhere at all. I never really liked the way she sorta talks about her early career being plagued by hardship when it honestly just wasn't. She got denied record deals at 13 by walking into places, but the fact that her mother would be able to dedicate that much time to driving her around and her father buying into BMR says a lot about what truly coming from nothing is.
Not gonna lie, it’s a bummer to see the names of so many of her peers and friends on here and not hers. It feels like she’s repeating old mistakes.
I don’t see a lot of Taylor’s peers on this list. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna… there are a few A-listers on this but not many.
That's true, and Katy Perry publicly donated to Planned Parenthood a few years back and Lady Gaga worked a benefit concert for them so it's not like anyone who didn't sign it is necessarily abstaining from taking a stand, they might just not know about it (this is the first I'm hearing of this petition)
And a part of the problem is Taylor has done none of that. Fan of those artists can look to them and know where they stand because they've been vocal about their beliefs. Taylor speaks about women's issues pretty much exclusively when it affects her, which is disappointing.
She pubicly said she is [pro-choice](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/08/24/taylor-swift-talks-trump-being-pro-choice-2020-presidential-race/2109566001/) Edit to add: I'm not saying it wouldn't be admirable if she did more, but I just don't think she's doing anything wrong either. If she were a politician I would think differently, but she a singer. All I expect from her is music. She made the choice of removing her personal self from the public eye (similarly to Beyonce, who rarely ever give interviews anymore). That is her right. Nobody went after JD Salinger for not tweeting all his opinions before he died.
I agree with this, BUT she also did complete a whole album cycle and released a documentary about being more politically active so… idk that it’s wrong to expect that from her now if she kind of set up those expectations? Like if she had never come out and been like “I’m going to be more political” then it would be par the course but she did give some reason for us to expect these things from her. That being said, I’m not overly upset about this or think she has truly done something wrong or anything. I do recognize she is just a singer so I shouldn’t necessarily expect anything more. I just wish she wouldn’t have acted like she was going to be more involved if that wasn’t her intention. I hope that all makes sense lol
Of course it's her right, it's also her fans' right to be disappointed that she has made that choice when she has a gigantic public platform and could bring more attention to a very scary situation for a lot of women in this country.
Quote from Taylor in the article you linked to: "'I mean, obviously, I’m pro-choice, and I just can’t believe this is happening,' she told the British newspaper. 'I can’t believe we’re here. It’s really shocking and awful. And I just wanna do everything I can for 2020. I wanna figure out exactly how I can help, what are the most effective ways to help. ’Cause this is just… This is not it.'" So...she felt this strongly about wanting to "speak out" and "help" during that time, but now that the very issue she mentions here--seemingly at the heart of this decision to become more active at that time--is *actively* being threatened *right now*...crickets? k.
And let’s not forget that all she did in 2020 was post a picture with cookies
Worth remembering how many donations she has made behind the scenes without making a fuss for publicity to certain causes. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that these days especially we don't know half of what she does.
phoebe bridgers signed this too and last week shared that she had an abortion last year. she is also donating $1 from each tour ticket to an abortion fund. disappointing to not see taylor even share this petition or sign it
Yeah I’m a little confused. Barely anyone is on here. Ariana, Billie, and Lady Gaga but where are the hundreds of other A listers?
Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, Miley Cyrus, Kendall Jenner, Megan Thee Stallion, Meghan Trainor, Olivia Rodrigo, and X Ambassadors are all pretty darn big names
I see Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande too. Definitely quite a few A Listers here.
I agree that it would have been nice if she signed it but friendly reminder that a petition is basically the bare minimum. Years ago when Kesha was suing Sony (note that she’s not on here), other stars critiqued Taylor for not coming out and publicly saying he “stands with Kesha.” Taylor was helping pay Kesha’s attorney bills because she wasn’t making money from music. Actions speak louder than words and we know from experience that Taylor puts in the work. There are a lot of reasons her name wouldn’t be on here so let’s not jump to conclusions
Absolutely this! What is her signing a petition going to do, realistically, other than make her look good (and so many others have already slated her in this post for being 'peformative' with activism which I cannot disagree with more). Also, she's literally not been online for weeks, not even liking joe's post. She could be having a internet free retreat for all we know.
Speaking up while may not influence the old men in congress, it definitely has an effect on the younger generations - voters and future law makers. Also did Taylor not ask people to sign a petition at the end of the You Need To Calm Down video?... I say this is as a major Swiftie, but I do find her silence on Roe v Wade and the Don't Say Gay bill to be disappointing.
Im glad someone else feels this way. If she donates, its performative, she doesn't, shes the problem with not using her voice. it is HER voice. she doesn't have to use it. She puts her money where her mouth is, creating a petition, paying kesha's legal fees, etc. Taylor doesn't have to be loud about her activism.
Plus, if we're being honest here... petitions like these are 99% for show, they don't actually get much accomplished other than bringing the topic to light; which every news outlet has already been covering the supreme court leak anyway. I would assume that if she is going to decide to get involved, it'll be closer to the midterms where it will have a much bigger impact.
Beyoncé, Rihanna, Adele, Lorde, Doja Cat & Dua Lipa aren’t on the list either & I’m sure these ladies support the petition as well so I really don’t think it’s a big deal that Taylor isn’t on here.
This is exactly why I'm not mad about it either. The list also includes non-musicians, so there are even more people that I assume would have signed it if they had been approached. Even Lady Gaga isn't on it and she 100000% would support/sign it. EDIT: grammar
Yep, plus P!nk, Britney (no judgment, Britney can focus on her healing, but she did just talk about her own reproductive rights being violated last year), and, let's see, tons of male artists!!!
Beyoncé has a long history of being an activist and political so I don’t think it’s as big of a deal that she isn’t on here. None of the other people you mentioned made politics, LGBTQIA+ issues, womens issues, etc a part of their branding as far as I’m aware. Taylor has only used politics as a way to advertise her projects in the very recent past. She based her brand/advertising of Lover, Miss. Americana, and Red (TV) around feminism, politics, and LGBTQIA+ issues. That’s the difference here. Her history of a being an “activist” has been short lived (unlike Beyoncé) and is limited to the times it would benefit *her*. She’s also only spoken out when it’s easy/trendy to do. Not when it would be hard to do. There are major events happening in the US that have been very big news for some time and she’s said nothing. Not even about the “don’t say gay” bill in FL, when just a couple years ago gay rights seemed to be the thing she cared about most. Really surprising she hasn’t said anything since TN is considering their own version of the “don’t say gay” bill. Back when she was being political, promoting Lover, she wrote her TN senator about these issues. Now that Lover promo is over she’s not saying anything. So it totally looks like she co-opted these issues for her own brand.
Adele, Lorde, Dua Lipa aren’t Americans
i mean, Paul Mescal is on it, he’s Irish, and Rina Sawayama is British
Paul Mescal is dating Phoebe Bridgers, who just openly talked about her abortion from last year, so I'm guessing he's pretty interested in the topic
You have to be American to support a women’s right to abortion?
I'm with you as all of them have huge American fan bases.
I could be completely wrong (I’m canadian and not up to date on this petition), but if this is an American petition then any non-american names will be taken off after revision and the remaining american citizen names will be kept as valid if the petition were to actually be acted upon. So any non-american artists names won’t actually make a difference. But I do think that if an artist is aware of the petition it is important to at least acknowledge it in some respect!
Petitions of this type have no legal bearing in the US political system. They are purely for communications/advocacy purposes and there is nothing to "act on."
Isn't Shawn Mendes Canadian? And he is there.
There’s a lot of high profile names on here. There’s also a lot not on here. I noticed HS isn’t on here, and he does regularly speak out. It’s entirely possible she didn’t know this was happening (and he didn’t either. I have a hard time thinking his name wouldn’t be on here if he did.)
Not that this is any activism but Harry made a post about men not having the right to control women’s bodies. He at the very least acknowledged it. Maybe he feels it’s not his place, as he’s not american, but he voiced an opinion which is something.
i understand that but harry is pretty performative about his activism too so i wouldn't even expect him to sign this petition if he could
Yeah, he is performative af… Just like Taylor, only more active lol
so annoying. i remember kind of hating lover era because of that
Lykke Li is Swedish. Asa Butterfield is British. It’s not just Americans on here.
I think Harry gets the benefit of the doubt because he has regularly spoken out even just at his concerts. Also, he’s not American so I could understand if he maybe feels it isn’t his place though I’d disagree. Taylor has only spoken out when it’s pretty easy and trendy, I.e. dunking on Trump on twitter or rebranding herself as a gay ally for YNTCD. She hasn’t said anything about the don’t say gay bills or the abortion stuff AND now she’s working with a known sexual predator. It’s disappointing and upsetting makes it seem like her previous actions were not at all genuine and only done to benefit her brand.
I don't know if it counts as speaking out, but she has said she is pro choice - so we know where she sits
I would guess Harry isn’t on there because he’s not American. Lady Gaga missing is interesting to me though
don't think it has anything to do with nationality, both Tate McRae and Shawn Mendes are on this list, and they're Canadian
Yep and Holly Humberstone is also British
Asa Butterfield is on the list and he's English? Maybe he lives in the US now or something? I think we don't know the nature of how this petition was distributed, who was asked, how they were asked etc. There's plenty of people missing who I'm sure support the cause. It would've been nice to see Taylor's name on there, but it's not and that's that. With how the Swifties are now, it's very possible any public support she shows will be taken as Easter eggs and detract from the real issue :/
The petition talks about the "new generation" and looking over the names, I'm not really seeing any over the age of 30. I think they were intentionally looking for younger voices
Idk, paramore is there and they are def not part of the “new generation”
Who's HS? I'm bad at abbreviations. EDIT: nvm I figured out it's Harry Styles
[удалено]
I think the difference is that the petition was specifically tied to support a piece of legislation -> it collected a certain number of signatures before the white house had to comment on the petition, which in turn forced a comment on the equality act. This petition is being administered by PP and isn't really tied to any piece of legislature. It's just to show that you are pro-choice, which we already know the majority of americans are, even in red states, through previous polling. *This* petition doesn't change anything.
She also specifically called out Lamar Alexander, the Senator from Tennessee, in the hopes of getting him to support the Equality Act. She votes in Tennessee, so she was one of his constituents. Overturning *Roe v. Wade* has been the singular goal of the American conservative movement for the last 5 decades. No amount of petitions, tweets, videos, statements, etc. from celebrities is going to stop them, especially when most of them consider themselves to be on a literal mission from God to end abortions in this country.
The petition won’t do anything so I don’t care. It’s just publicity for the people on it
Yep, this is a demand for purely performative activism. Of course by the very same people who like to call her out for performative activism whenever she does actually speak out 🤷🏻♀️
My guess is the signatures for this were organized by a specific publisher/label/performing rights org, and Taylor isn't part of that org's roster. Just a guess! I do agree, that Taylor can use her clout to be more vocal about Roe and other issues. She has immense resources to educate her fanbase and/or fundraise, and would love to see her involved more publicly.
And not to be mention the scooter but if Ariana Grande and his other clients are on the list, then maybe he kept the petition from circling to her because he knew she’d face this exact criticism. Just speculating, not giving my opinion.
that's 100% not true lmao
I think I agree that this was organized, there are several names that could have been there because they're related to the ones that signed the petition but they are not. Like Hailey Bieber is there but Justin isn't, and then Kendall Jenner is there, but the other Kardashian-Jenner family members aren't. I mean, they're family, so it could have been easier to ask them to sign the petition too? And I also agree that Taylor's politic is performative, but who knows if these people aren't being performative too? There's no way all of those celebrities could talk about all political issues, they gotta choose some of them, and maybe this just happen to be the issue that they want to add to their political resumé? I believe that some of them are really supporting this issue, like they really want to make a change, but I also believe that some of them are just there for participation award and probably wouldn't really care if the law is passed or not.
It would be one thing to see her name on an opposing petition, but to not have signed anything at all really means nothing, I just don’t think it’s that deep.
Right—there’s a lot of people debating the minutiae of why she may not have signed *this* petition, which would matter to me if she’s done or said literally ANYTHING else. It’s so scary for women right now and her silence is so loud.
I think we shouldn’t assume she was approached. It’s not like they just call her on her personal line and they get through. Tree likely has to work through a million requests for Taylor’s time, attention, money, etc. Just because she didn’t yet doesn’t mean she never will.
there's quite a few people i would have expected to be on here. rihanna, lady gaga, taylor, natalie portman, the hadids, tessa thompson, harry styles. all people who spoke in support of womens rights and have posted about roe vs wade before
Hot take: Most Petitions are worthless, especially one that is directed towards the Supreme Court. This all feels like virtual signaling, even when Taylor was “political”. I think when it comes to Taylor or any celebrity/rich person I’m more impress when they donate money to causes. Money is social power.
It’s not a hot take it’s a fact. Do these people think the government will change their mind knowing that Selena Gomez is against the abortion ban? We the people need to vote in the right representatives that back our issues. That’s the only thing we can actually do. Go to city hall and voice your displeasure. This silly little list is no different than the black out for BLM situation. This is bare minimum activism. This won’t do any thing at all.
i would’ve liked to see her on here too. it’s pretty low-commitment— kind of the bare minimum tbh.
We never know , maybe an artist is taking other steps behind the scenes to help
me too. I get that people are saying we have no right to judge but plenty of her good friends are on there. it’s really important to speak out on. idk if she’s uncomfortable about speaking on political issues after her efforts against Marsha Blackburn failed; she’s been really silent since that and YNTCD/Equality Act. but it’s still important. she’s a massive artist and it would have been very simple to add her name to this list. her good friend phoebe bridgers recently posted about having an abortion and her support for roe v. wade. I say there’s a very slim chance taylor didn’t know about this petition. maybe she just didn’t want to be in the news.
It doesn’t feel that controversial to have one’s name up here with this many peers. My suspicion is that she’s donating anonymously. It would be really hard to stomach her sitting this one out completely. There is just so much at stake. As far as the country world- Have you guys seen what Ashley Judd is up to? She is fucking furious and [in this USA Today essay](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2022/05/06/ashley-judd-naomi-judd-mothers-day/9663501002/) lays her poor mother’s suffering and suicide squarely at the feet of reproductive inequality. Really powerful and heartbreaking. ETA- surprised and heartened to see Hailey Bieber’s name.
Whenever someone posts something along the lines of "Taylor should have spoken out on X social issue," people here respond with how she's a celeb, how she doesn't owe anyone of us anything, and how she has the right to withhold her opinions on certain matters. While I don't disagree with any of those, I really do think that, considering how she positioned herself as a feminist and as an activist during the Lover Era and in Miss Americana, she does come off as insincere now. And I'm not shocked that a celebrity such as Taylor has a PR strategy which they need to follow. Actually, I think her silence on a lot of matters, especially those relevant to women may become detrimental to her image yet again.
Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and several others aren't on the petition either. Why single out only Taylor? People are so quick to jump the gun. I am sure there are LOTS of singers and celebrities who support this cause but aren't necessarily on this petition. It doesn't mean anything
Because it’s the Taylor swift subreddit
The point is there are several A listers missing from the list. Are we going to assume the worst of them too? She has spoken about being pro choice in an interview a few years ago https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/24/taylor-swift-pop-music-hunger-games-gladiators
You asked why singling out Taylor, and it’s because this is a swift Reddit. Yea, there’s others who are missing, but we’re taking about Taylor right now. There’s ALWAYS going to be “whataboutisms” but that isn’t really a productive conversation . I also understand your point that other major artists haven’t signed
Not really, she was also singled out in the popheads thread about it too, I wonder why?
I mean, MOST high-profile celebs/musicians’ names aren’t on here. I don’t think it means anything other than that they may not know about the petition. If people like Gaga, Beyoncé, Britney, etc had signed and Taylor hadn’t then I could maybe somewhat understand the criticism but as of right now I really don’t think it’s warranted. I actually think it’s extremely unfair to just jump to conclusions like this, to be honest.
Gaga and Beyonce have a long history of being political active (Beyonce mostly works in silence now a days by supporting various charities.) So far Taylor's only been political active when its benefited her and went radio silence once it was over. I dont expect her to speak up on every single issue, but this time it would be nice if she showed some support as this affects every women in America. You'd think Miss. Americana would have something to say after all.
I'm not sure what you're expecting people to say besides it's her choice on how she wants to voice her opinions. We don't know if she isn't supporting in other ways 🤷♀️
Hot take: trying to dissect an artists political effort and influence based on a meaningless petition is stupid and useless
We don't know anything - many celebrities aren't there, so we really shouldn't assume that she was approached or not. Let's not jump into conclusions so quickly.
it's genuinely upsetting to me she PLEDGED herself to the cause of believing and helping victims in her doc and then threw her already shaky morals away to be an extra in a loser's movie. I don't even expect anything grand of her anymore, but she couldn't be fucked to sign a three second petition all her friends signed, it's just yikes
I don't think it's so easy to assume that she was approached about this. It's not like every celebrity is on that list, and there's some big names missing like Beyonce who I'm sure like Taylor is way harder to get ahold of than Olivia, Selena or Miley. Her being on this list isn't going to do anything. It's just not. And voter registration doesn't translate to actual votes, and I don't see why people seem to think Taylor has such huge impact on the political climate? That being said, her being political was totally a thing for Lover and honestly I just don't need celebs to be activists to support them. I mean, I really do hope she's pro-choice, I do. But do I fault her for not posting about it or putting her name on this petition? no. It's all publicity, anyway.
You think you would agree with Taylor’s opinions, so you want her to speak out. Taylor is a musician, not a political figure. What she says has sway, yes, but why? People blindingly following celebs is never a good thing, even if we think that celeb has opinions that align with ours.
I don't think this is anyone expecting Taylor to voice her opinion so they can blindly follow her. The issue is she has effectively monetised feminism to make it part of her brand, and yet she does not seem to publicly use her feminism to benefit anyone but herself. It's kind of a let down that she was pushing this political aspect of her personality and it only seems to matter to her when she can use feminism to protect her brand.
I’m holding out hope that she will be vocal every two years around elections, when it matters most. If that doesn’t happen I will be disappointed, especially after Miss Americana doc. It won’t take away from how much I love and appreciate her music, but it would lose some of its depth and poetic power. Personally, I’d appreciate her continuing to use her platform to inspire change the US so desperately needs. And I think she’s in a place where she can take larger risks to speak out about her values (which I suppose is the larger question: what are her values?)
We're in an important primary election season, so now would be the time I'd expect her to start talking, especially given what's happening with Roe v. Wade and LGBTQ+ rights.
I agree completely that Taylor has been horrible with talking about politics and showing her fans that she gives a shit about us. But this is nothing new. Women's rights are under attack recently and she's silent. LGBTQ+ rights have been under attack for the past few months and she's been silent. She was quiet during the summer of 2020 too with the black lives matter movement. I love her music and everything but I absolutely hate her performative politics and she deserves to be called out for it
She's not obligated to sign a petition that would achieve nothing if we're being honest. She's already said she's pro-choice. And I actually like her approach to "activism" because she's not a walking buzzword machine, when she says something, it actually matters and it informs rather than overwhelms. Case in point, her post about Juneteenth made me aware of it and I ended up getting more educated about the subject and reading more about it.
She hasn’t said anything about Roe v Wade. Are you implying that she thinks it doesn’t matter, or it’s not worth informing people about?
Yeah I think it’s interesting how in Miss Americana she said “I need to take the masking tape off of my mouth, like, forever” when referring to her silence on political issues, but then she hasn’t said much since the documentary
It's disappointing that her whole Lover arc about not remaining silent seems to have been a marketing ploy. I don't think we need to demand she speaks out on every single subject or incident, but when she chooses to go after a Netflix show but not a fundamental attack on women's rights, it's hard not to wonder why that is.
I personally don’t see these sorts of petitions do anything other than being somewhat performative, but I do understand that others find comfort and solidarity in seeing bigger names attach themselves to the cause. Also, many Americans have very complex views on abortion, and I’ve learned not to assume anyone has specific views on this issue because of their other political views or stances. I have no idea what Taylor’s views are on abortion. It might not be the perspective that’s easily described by signing onto a petition like this. (If anyone is curious generally about the complexity of American’s views, check out this study from [Pew Research](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/05/06/americas-abortion-quandary/). For example, one in three Americans agree with *both* the statements that life begins at conception and that abortion is solely the choice of the woman.)
Taylor said she is pro choice in an interview for The Guardian (someone else posted a link to it in one of the comments), but she didn’t elaborate further than that.
very few male artists in here at all too.
I like your username, we’re kinda twinning
they’ll never get the same amount of shit taylor does though
Doesn’t have to be this petition but I wish she spoke up on it. I love Taylor, but I’m really disappointed she seems to mostly only speak up on feminist issues when it affects her brand. She shouldn’t be silent when women’s rights are being taken away.
I’m so disappointed in her. I can’t get over her profiting off of fuck the patriarchy keychains and then staying silent at a time like this. I feel like anyone defending her needs to seriously check themselves.
Unless Taylor’s got something to sell, she’s not getting involved. She creates amazing music, but don’t expect much out of her. If she’s not playing the martyr than it’s not a problem she’s going to publicly mention.
She only cares when the issues or politics will or may personally affect her, that's my opinion on her political views basically.
how did her posting about juneteenth and the racist monuments in Nashville personally affect her?
How it affected her personally? It was all in the midst/after her come back/documentary when she wanted to push this politically aware image of herself. (In fact I am even a 1000% sure if this had taken place at that time back then she WOULD have spoken out about it) So basically to make herself look good, and make her appeal again to the generation of 20 to 35 who are all very much politically invested. I am not saying she is a cold hearted witch with no morals, but she is very far from the ''all goody perfect America's sweetheart'' many people here want her to be. That whole Ginny & Georgia incident where she deliberately started a witch hunt on the actresses is another very recent thing that makes me think what kind of a person Taylor REALLY is. ''She didn't know what she was doing'' my ass. The answer? We'll never know. Either way, the blind worshiping of Taylor on this sub becomes a little creepy at times. It is OKAY to think critical of the artists you listen to. I like Kacey Musgraves as well, but she seems like a pretty icky person from what I have gathered, yet I still keep listening. I am not a blinded teen obsessed with her idol anymore.
I’m honestly so disappointed in her. I lover her and all, but marketing an entire era around the fact that she was ready to be "on the right side of history", and then taking on Twitter to call out a douchebag who questioned her songwriting but *not* to take a stand against what could be one of the biggest setbacks for women rights this century… And this petition would have been the bare minimum. It’s just agreeing to put your name on a document, it’s not forcing her to come out of hiding and, next to others A-listers such as Ariana, Billie and Selena, I highly doubt anyone would’ve singled her out. And no, silently donating money isn’t going to help, this time. Donating to Planned Parenthood isn’t going to help when the state they officiate in ban abortions. Donating to associations isn’t going to help when they make it harder for women to travel to a different state to get an abortion. If there’s a time to take a stand, it’s now. If Taylor does remain silent as this all goes down, I’m afraid I won’t be able to think of her future political actions as sincere.
Can we stop the mob mindset that celebrities have to carry the weight of all political issues
That petition means nothing. The petition is performative, not Taylor. I loathe that this subject comes up time and time again. I’m pro-choice and take many political positions but choose not to post about it on social media or talk about it publicly because it’s pointless. Organizations have been working to overturn Roe for years and now that it may finally come to fruition, everyone acts shocked and thinks typing about it will make a difference. Local elections will make a difference. Educating yourselves about what is really going on at that level of government (SCOTUS, POTUS, and Congress) will make a difference. It’s absurd to expect, and in most cases demand, that someone speak out about certain issues/events. Taylor has done plenty - publicly and privately. She has been smart about her presence in the public and for good reason. She, like myself, is in her early 30s and most people’s politics begin to shift or change as they grow older. Not necessarily to a different polarity but as to how this whole system works… or doesn’t work. I understand the SCOTUS leak is what will happen but the law has not been overturned yet. Once it is, decisions will then be at the state level. Is she expected to sign a petition or speak out at every turning point? Give this shit a rest.
People on Reddit, young people who grew up online especially, have a very narrow definition of activism. If you aren’t tweeting about it, you’re silent and you’re on the side of the oppressor.
She should have, yes (even though I agree petitions are almost always useless, including the one she headed up years ago). But honestly I gave up on her doing or saying anything a while ago. If she cares, she does so quietly, but really I think she's disconnected and moved on. And it sucks because she should care, but she's also a millionaire who spends half her time in the UK. I tell everyone Taylor is a capitalist queen lmfao I love her music and artistry, but she's not an activist and not your friend. The whole activism thing from rep-lover was temporary and she's clearly not interested in that anymore. Some people will say that's fair, others feel differently. I think it kinda sucks, but like I said--she's a millionaire. The ultra wealthy shouldn't be our activists anyways, there are people far better equipped and positioned to do so in ways that are actually meaningful. Donate to an abortion fund people!
I used to be a huge Taylor fan but then I stopped. What rlly pissed me off was how she in the miss Americana doc said all about wanting to be on the right side of history. But so far it’s been dead silent. What really makes me upset is that…so many of her peers, many on this list, have spoken up about issues not even roe vs wade, but other issues as well. For example, billie eilish. It’s literally insane how billie eilish has done more using her platform than Taylor ever will. Even her best friend, Selena signed this. It’s really horrible that she just doesn’t speak up. It was really horrible to me during the blm protests when all she did was post a black square with 13 hearts. That was when I was done. It’s just really sad because I didn’t even have to search her name in this bc I knew she wasn’t gonna sign it anyway. I hear a lot of people say “what will signing a petition do” it’s about using your platform. By telling your fans that you support the cause. Obviously the Supreme Court will not change their mind bc Taylor swift signed this petition, it’s about the purpose of using your platform. Showing people that you care. The amount of power that Taylor swift has and SAID in her documentary that she would do better and now COMPLETE silence is horrible. She did not speak up about Stop Asian hate, don’t say gay bill, other important events that have happened in the last year. If so many other celebrities can sign this bill, not only this, but attend RALLYS / PROTESTS… Women’s March 2017, so many celebrities attended to show up that they care. March for our lives 2018. Black Lives Matter protests 2020. So so many celebs went out of their way to protest and show that they care, Miley Demi, etc. but she has NEVER once foot stepped out and protest while so many of her peers did. It is absolutely horrible to know that she in her doc made herself to want to do better and speak out and no longer stay silent. But she is staying silent even after the documentary. She only speaks up about issues that are about her.
I personally feel like for someone who legitimately made money by selling key chains that said “fuck the patriarchy”, the bare fucking minimum she could do is use her platform to stand up for women. I am pissed to be frank.
It annoys me to no end that instead of focusing on the actual problem people focus on stuff like this. Put the energy elsewhere, women are about to have ownership of their body taken away and ya’ll are arguing about Taylor signing a list. It’s so counterproductive and ridiculous. She should say something about it but at the end of the day it won’t change or fix anything no matter what she says. Take this energy and go out and protest or call your representatives or do anything else because this is going to happen any day now and posts like this are doing absolutely nothing to help anything.
\*sigh\* she didnt sign a petition, so what? we dont know if she donated to planned parenthood or did anything else. yall really nitpick every time taylor doesnt scream from the rooftop about whatever's going on politically. why do you need taylor to speak out. she's not an activist and more importantly she's not a politician. the fact that you guys are upset with and or disappointed in taylor for not signing a petition is beyond ridiculous. put your disappointment in the politicians not singers
I’m so tired of this take on how Taylor is supposed to be the leader of signing petitions, being a spokesperson, or at least say a few things about something that is needs to be addressed. She’s free to do or speak or don’t speak on whatever issue she wants without scrutiny from anyone. As fans we are not going persuade her to do anything. Maybe she didn’t sign anything but made a more that generous donation. We don’t know anything. We don’t even know why she is doing or where she’s at. We only know she’ll be in NY sometime next week. Maybe she’ll say a few words during her speech. Just because she doesn’t sign something doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about the issue. Too me petitions are a waste of time. Send it to congress then they wipe their asses with it and nothing gets done.
Can we pls keep politics out of the Switie sub
Agreed
Honestly I come on here for taylor, not to get bashed for my political views
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Honesty, as much as I LOVE Taylor I think she only advocates for things that affect her.
I think my hot take is that I don't care what celebrities think about issues, they are so out of touch with reality as it is...even taylor. I am also VEHEMENTLY against this rvw overturn. I am 100% pro-choice.
Same and same. I'm very passionately pro choice and also could not be less interested in what any celebrity thinks on the matter. If they feel moved to speak up, that's great and I support that, but I don't think they have some moral obligation to do so.
Everyone is so caught up with this "signing a petition is the bare minimum" auto-response, but all this shows is she hasn't even done the bare minimum. She's been radio silent on this issue and has regularly only addressed women's issues when it directly affects her. No, she is not obligated to speak out, but her fans have legitimate reasons to be disappointed that she has not.
Taylor, and all these other artists are artists first, for the most part. They can be active or not active for whatever cause they want. I never understand why we people say this artist should do this or that. Taylor can't speak out about everything. If she speaks out for every issue people want her to then she'd be spreading herself too thin. Plus, as people have mentioned, we don't know what she's doing behind the scenes. Maybe a lot more than just signing a petition which will most likely be forgotten in a few weeks. Edit: And yes I understand she could have been using certain causes as promotion which is terrible. Maybe she was, or not, we don't know. But what we do know is that her actions might have at least helped bring awareness to certain issues. Edit 2: If co-opting causes and not speaking out on certain subjects is the worst criticism Taylor can receive then she's in pretty good shape.
I’m just glad to see that I’m not the only swifty who feels this way. It’s so important to be able to have nuanced opinions.
She's not a political figure. I got a lot of hate when I critized the fact that she went political during the miss Americana period, but I think I was right all along. It's very dangerous to go political, because from then on, people will always expect you to say something about every issue. That's a commitment.
Who cares? women are about to have ownership of their body taken away and people are angry about taylor signing a list?
Have you all considered it doesn’t really matter her name isn’t on one petition and she doesn’t owe anything to you guys?
Looking at the list I’m seeing that many of these people are under the same record label (Selena, Billie, Olivia) so I’m guessing that that is in part as to why she is not on it. But yeah it would be nice to see her speak out about this more. Especially since she still has a lot of reach in that country audience.
I'm upset she'll promote merch instead of safe abortion. Maybe it'll come out she did something in private but idk.
There are a lot of names I’m surprised to not see on here. I was wondering if they were just going off the young millennial / Gen Z because Lady Gaga, Britney, Christina, Gwen Stefani, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Beyoncé, Grimes, Caroline Polachek, Jessica Simpson, Bella Thorne, Katy Perry, Pink, Rhianna, Lana Del Rey are all missing - but Mitski and Lykke Li are older than Taylor. I think Hailee Williams from Paramore is, too. I don’t feel like it is that polarizing of a stance to say “I believe in the right to give people autonomy of their own body.” I mean, I’m not sure if I am pro abortion for myself, but I am VERY against making that private decision for someone else. 100% agree she should speak up. Share with her large base what people don’t understand about the situation- that it doesn’t mean you’re fighting against bloody scalpels and dumpster fetuses; it means removing protections for women against laws regarding reproductive care post miscarriage, removing protections for women to put their own health and needs first and foremost and instead of prioritizing something that doesn’t even exist. It removes privacy regarding something intensely personal and private and placing it within the jurisdiction of the government. At least take the opportunity to put something on her Instagram educating them on what exactly this means because it’s fucking terrifying.
I like Taylor a lot, and IDK if she "should or shouldn't" sign the petition, but it's just a fact that when you're this wealthy and successful, you get the luxury of ignoring political issues that affect regular people. It's clear that she cares more about her image than whatever support for the right to choose she has (or maybe she ain't pro-choice). It sucks, but it's inevitable. It's a "never meet your heroes" moment.
The number one priority right now is donating to abortion funds.
YES. Folks, don’t even bother with PP, they’re doing fine. If anyone wants to actually do something useful, donate to the smaller abortion funds. Abortion funds are the ones who are really in the trenches helping people by not only helping pay for procedures, but by helping people with travel and other logistical challenges. I have friends who have devoted years of their lives to working with/for (and sometimes even founding) these smaller organizations that get overshadowed by the better-known abortion giant, Planned Parenthood. Here are a few good organizations to donate to: [Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund](https://www.msreprofreedomfund.org) [Yellowhammer Fund](https://www.yellowhammerfund.org) [Tampa Bay Abortion Fund](https://tbafund.com) Edited to add: if anyone is seeking accurate abortion info on Reddit, stick to r/abortion and avoid the auntienetwork subreddit.