Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
USA TODAY
Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes hugged. Then the backlash. Here's what it says about us.
By Jay Stahl, USA TODAY,
1 days ago
Brit tany Mahomes has spent the end of summer under fire for her potential political positions.
The businesswoman and wife to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ignited backlash when she seemingly liked an Instagram post by former President Donald Trump last month . Brittany Mahomes, who allegedly unliked the post at a later date, appeared to show her support on Instagram for Trump's “2024 GOP Platform." The post called for sealing the border, keeping "men out of women's sports" and not funding schools that teach critical race theory.
Now, her popstar BFF Taylor Swift is catching heat, too. Since Swift started publicly dating Travis Kelce , Patrick Mahomes' husband's close friend and Chiefs teammate, last summer, the two women have become fast friends.
From left to right, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, recording artist Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Ms. Swift and Ms. Mahomes are stoking controversy about their shared and separate political opinions. Mike Frey, Imagn Images
They've been photographed out to dinner, at football games and now, at the U.S. Open, where the pair embraced as they shared a double date during the men's singles final at the annual tennis tournament over the weekend.
But the music industry heavyweight has angered critics who say she's avoided picking sides in the 2024 presidential election while seemingly still supporting her friend.
Although Swift endorsed the 2020 Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during that election cycle, she hasn't made a public statement about her vote this time around. And neither has Brittany Mahomes, but some have taken the alleged liking of Trump's post to be an endorsement.
A hug between Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes drew backlash after some assumed the Kansas City businesswoman supported the politics and policies of former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president. Al Bello, Getty Images
So why do we care about one hug, and how did these partners in crime become partners in controversy? And even if they are on opposite sides of the political aisle, can they still be friends? Experts are weighing in.
Swift has been largely apolitical during two-decade career
During her career, Swift has publicly endorsed three candidates: 2018 Tennessee senate candidate Phil Bredesen , U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper in his 2018 re-election bid to Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, and Biden in the 2020 race for president .
Why do we want Swift, a largely apolitical pop star, to share her personal stances and why are we upset about her hug? According to Emerson College professor Kristin Lieb, it's a lack of boundaries between fans and celebrities.
"Knowing who someone is voting for is pretty personal, that's why we have to draw the curtains in the voting booth, or increasingly, seal our votes in envelopes and mail them in," Lieb said, adding that "in general, people in the United States are advised not to talk about politics or religion at work or when we don't know people well, but stars are somehow expected to provide on-demand answers to questions about their private lives as demanded by fans."
Aria Halliday, a cultural critic and professor at the University of Kentucky, agreed with Lieb, telling USA TODAY that "we don't expect people in our everyday lives to stand outside and tell everyone their business, right?"
Halliday conitnued: "And so we shouldn't expect that of celebrities either."
Taylor Swift experts address why fans want an endorsement
Swift, who is known for celebrating the seasons of her career, has stayed reliably mum in this presidential election. And she hasn't endorsed a candidate although Election Day is less than two months away. But why do Swift fans, known as "Swifties," want her to enter her endorsement era?
Stephanie Burt, a literary critic who teaches a course on Swift at Harvard University, also attributed the craving for Swift to talk about her politics with parasocial relationships, which she described as mutual between Swift and her fans.
"A lot of us would like to see Kamala win, Trump lose, and we think her endorsement would help," Burt told USA TODAY, adding that in parasocial relationships "we want to see our friends endorse our actions and agree with us on anything that matters to us."
Kristin Lieb told USA TODAY that "people relate to her and her persistence and the sort of continuous examination of self that like runs through the song, but that doesn't mean she's inviting you into the dinner party at her house. It might feel like that, but that's strategically constructed."
My new name for Taylor Swift is Jim Jones....the cult leader who talked hundreds of followers to drink the Kool aid.....for all her little kid followers...look up Jim jones... you need the lesson...
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.