Taylor Swift was caught on camera on Sunday night doing something truly incendiary: hanging out with her friend. For some bizarre reason, a subset of her very online fans decided to have a meltdown in response to what should be a non-event.
The controversy came after the pop star was photographed socializing with and, gasp, even hugging Brittany Mahomes, whose husband plays on the same NFL team as Swift’s boyfriend. What makes Mahomes such a controversial figure among Swift’s fandom? Well, she has recently liked a few posts on social media that suggest she supports former President Donald Trump .
That’s it. That’s what made some “Swifties” apoplectic.
“To all my [people of color] & marginalized Swifties who are struggling with seeing Taylor with Brittany, I see you, and I am with you, and I love you,” one fan posted .
“We as Swifties need to call out Taylor for being hypocritical and a performative activist,” another fan wrote . “She cries and makes a huge deal about being an activist in Miss Americana and then surrounds herself with Trumpies and predators. I’m so disappointed in her.”
“This might be the worst and most widespread public backlash she has had in years and [to be honest] I hope she's freaking out about it,” another viral post concluded.
Meanwhile, on TikTok, angry users accused Swift of being a “pick-me,” a fake LGBT ally, and even a traitor to human rights.
On one level, this backlash is absurd to the point of hilarity.
Ironically, these critics are insulting their fellow Swift fans, falsely insinuating that most “people of color” or “marginalized” people are so emotionally fragile that they would be devastated by a pop star’s choice in friends. And for those who clearly obsess about “oppression” and “marginalization,” they’re also revealing their own glaring level of privilege. If Swift’s social life is a pressing concern for someone, he or she must have a pretty darn easy life with no actual problem taking up his or her attention.
But on another level, this backlash is a symptom of a sickness that is really quite sad.
Many of these people have evidently convinced themselves that they, in their infinite wisdom, have the entire world figured out. They have the sole answers to all the complicated issues that divide us politically and are so confident in their own correctness that they can definitively declare anyone who disagrees with them to be not just wrong but evil and malicious, so much so that one cannot even associate with them in any way without being tainted by their wickedness.
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This worldview requires a complete and total lack of intellectual humility, curiosity, and room for nuance. And taken to its logical extreme, it flattens one's view of humanity, defining people by one dimension of who they are and depriving oneself of meaningful, possibly life-changing relationships with fellow citizens just because they differ politically.
In reality, Swift deserves credit, not condemnation, for the fact that she can set aside her own progressive politics — she just endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris — and be friends with someone who may fall on the other side of the aisle. Unlike her most unhinged and close-minded online supporters, Swift is demonstrating the emotional maturity of an actually functioning adult. These hyper-woke “Swifties” need to stop stirring up baseless outrage and realize that they’re being too loud — and need to calm down .
Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist, YouTuber , and co-founder of BASEDPolitics .
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