Taylor Swift says she will use her ‘influence’ against disgusting political rhetoric
Singer Taylor Swift says in a new interview that it is her ‘responsibility’ to use her ‘influence’ against ‘disgusting’ [political rhetoric.
Taylor Swift said her new album "Lover" is her most politically engaged body of music yet.
The 29-year-old Grammy winner revealed in a tell-all interview with Rolling Stone magazine that she consciously made that choice because she was so deeply affected by the 2016 presidential election and the 2018 midterm elections.
She specifically touched upon the lyrics in her new song “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” and its obvious metaphors.
"There are so many influences that go into that particular song. I wrote it a couple of months after midterm elections, and I wanted to take the idea of politics and pick a metaphorical place for that to exist. And so I was thinking about a traditional American high school, where there’s all these kinds of social events that could make someone feel completely alienated," she told the publication.
"And I think a lot of people in our political landscape are just feeling like we need to huddle up under the bleachers and figure out a plan to make things better."
Swift also talked about how she dealt with the discovery that a white supremacist website reportedly suggested the singer aligned with their views.
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"I didn’t even see that, but, like, if that happened, that’s just disgusting," she admitted.
"There’s literally nothing worse than white supremacy. It’s repulsive. There should be no place for it. Really, I keep trying to learn as much as I can about politics, and it’s become something I’m now obsessed with, whereas before, I was living in this sort of political ambivalence, because the person I voted for had always won. We were in such an amazing time when Obama was president because foreign nations respected us," Swift continued.
"We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House. My first election was voting for him when he made it into office, and then voting to reelect him. I think a lot of people are like me, where they just didn’t really know that this could happen. But I’m just focused on the 2020 election. I’m really focused on it. I’m really focused on how I can help and not hinder. Because I also don’t want it to backfire again, because I do feel that the celebrity involvement with Hillary’s campaign was used against her in a lot of ways."
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Swift said she wished she'd gotten more involved with politics at an earlier stage in her career but also said she was convinced her views would backfire and herself and the candidate she chose to support.
"It’s a very powerful thing when you legitimately feel like numbers have proven that pretty much everyone hates you," she said.
In October, Swift broke her political silence in a lengthy Instagram post ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. In it, she encouraged her 112 million followers to vote for Democrat Phil Bredesen for the Tennessee Senate, and also for Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat who was running for reelection. Her post was also highly critical of Republican Marsha Blackburn.
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“As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn," Swift wrote at the time. "Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me."
She continued: “She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values.”
Ultimately, Blackburn won her election.
Swift also made clear her stance on LGBTQ rights in her recent hit song "You Need to Calm Down," which targets homophobia.
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“Rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male. I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of," she said. "It’s hard to know how to do that without being so fearful of making a mistake that you just freeze. Because my mistakes are very loud."
Fox News' Jessica Sager and Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.
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