Despite Taylor Swift’s immense success these past few years—the twelve Grammy Awards, the immensely popular Eras Tour, charting no. 1 on the Billboards—the pop star has begun facing various criticisms across social media platforms. In the past, most of the criticism Swift received stemmed from misogynistic points of view on seeing a woman succeed. However, now, her critics are not criticizing her music, personality, or how she is overrated; rather, they are criticizing how she is “a symptom of a much bigger problem” (WMC). Some students here at YLHS also share this sentiment: “Even though I do not necessarily have a problem with Taylor Swift, some of the choices she has made in the past months reflect poorly on her,” says Shreya Shah (11).
One of the significant issues Swift has been standing on is her “illusion of inclusivity.” Critics comment on how Swift is a feminist only when it comes to her advantage. More specifically, she has not “…meaningfully demonstrated that she’s intersectional or inclusive in her advocacy” (WMC). We see this especially in her hit song “The Man,” which is about the double standard between men and women. In certain lyrics of the song, Swift makes clear that her life is hard because she is a rich white woman and not a rich white man. Instead of taking down the roots of misogyny and oppression for all, her lyrics imply that she wants to partake in the same system.
We also see another controversy with her rumored boyfriend (at the time), Matty Healy, the lead singer in the pop band The 1975. She appeared leaving recording studios and having Healy attend one of her shows during the time of their supposed relationship. All was fine until her boyfriend publicly went on to say extremely offensive, sexist, racist comments—some of them directed at the American rapper Ice Spice. Swift did not take action or denounce Healy’s actions; rather, she stayed silent. Of course, Swift could have privately confronted Healy on his actions—we do not even know if they were in an actual relationship. However, having been seen in public with Healy, especially as an artist who prides herself in her version of inclusivity, the public cannot help being disappointed in her actions.
Indeed, those lyrics could have been a mere mistake, and her relationship with Healy a manipulation from the eyes of the media. However, as an artist with 17 years in the music industry and a fan base of millions of people globally, it is a fact that she has disappointed the people of color who have looked up to her music and character.
Not only that, more recently, Swift has had controversies regarding her private jet use and her unreasonable amount of carbon emissions. Swift’s jet use is equivalent to the energy consumption of 17 houses in a year and the electricity use of 26.9 homes. This means it would require planting 2,282 trees over a decade to offset the environmental damage she has caused (Economic Times). No one is saying that Taylor Swift is the cause of climate change, as big corporations and companies cause the same, if not worse, effect on the environment. Commercial flying could be a problem for Swift, as she carries a large, dedicated fan base. Even so, as a person sharing this earth as a home with billions of others, she has a moral responsibility to limit the damage she continues to emit on the environment. Even if giving up jet usage is impossible due to her career, 13-minute flights (which accounts to a 30-minute drive) are a bit excessive (Mashable). Additionally, Jack Sweeney, a college student who has been tracking public figures’ jet usage on social media, has received a cease-and-desist letter for “stalking and harassing behavior” from Swift’s legal team. The information Sweeney shared was already publicly available by the Federal Aviation Administration even before it came to the public’s attention (Mashable). Critics have made comments on how Swift, as a billionaire, is willing to financially harm a young, working-class college student just because he decided to bring attention to information that harms her public image.
Obviously, it is not Taylor Swift’s job to be an advocate for the end of racism, misogyny, or climate change. Swift is also not the only celebrity who has publicly done these actions—of course, we do not know what happens behind cameras. Regardless, Swift is an experienced celebrity with millions of youth looking up to her. She should have expected the detrimental outcomes of her actions and how much of an impact she has on society itself. As a woman with economic and influential power, it is disappointing to see how Swift fails to reflect the values she so passionately seems to possess through her songs. There is no fault in continuing to listen to Taylor Swift’s music—there is a reason why she is one of the most successful music artists after all. Still, instead of praising and justifying every action Swift does, separating the music from the artist is an option. Sometimes, we just have to accept that public figures we look up to do not always necessarily reflect back the cherished image we believe in.
