Taylor Swift is arguably the most popular musician in the world at this time, but it would seem many of her fans are turning on her with gusto. Why?
A lot of people are going to point to the fact that her marriage to the Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce has made her happy and that her support of her husband has given many modern women "the ick." Some will point to the fact that while they have no problem with this marriage, the fact that she's now happy has her writing music that doesn't strike the same chord as the music she was making when she was angry at a man for breaking her heart.
From my perch, I'd say it's both of those things, and neither of them.
What's underneath it all is, I think, a feeling of betrayal and the fact that Swift is in alien territory that is both cultural and somewhat political, and if I'm being honest, this collapse is going to be good for everyone, especially her more delusional fanbase.
For starters, Taylor Swift practically made a religion out of her music, and I'm only half joking here. You go through all the artists throughout history that have achieved levels of fame that far outstrip any other, and Swift's brand of fandom is something that borders on the delusional and sometimes dangerous.
Elvis, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson had their rabid fans, with their fandoms having their own collective personalities, and Swift is no different, but the more dedicated parts of her fandom are hostile. I can remember telling a big Elvis fan I didn't like his music when I was younger, and the fan began by telling me that's okay, but calmly explained why Elvis wasn't only good, but important. Today I have a much larger appreciation for Elvis and his music.
Say that same thing to a rabid Swiftie, and you're going to be accused of harboring a horrible amount of misogyny and be labeled a hater. Depending on how deep into that conversation you get, you might even witness tears. If I had to compare the zealotry some people have toward her to an actual religion, I'd have to go with Islam, knowing that if Swifties had a theocratic court system, people would be punished severely for daring to talk ill of their lowercase g god.
But it seems that era might be coming to an end, and it's all thanks to Swift herself.
You see, Swift became popular for several reasons that only worked for the modern era. She was able to accurately relay — namely to women — the life of a girl/woman in this day and age. The hazards and frustrations of dating, heartbreak, feeling like you're never enough, pulling through despite all the chaos in your brain, but accepting and even embracing the fact that you're a bit crazy. Add that to that the fact that she's experiencing a lot of this as a celebrity who is dealing with celebrities, and you've got TMZ-level drama in a song.
Women hold listening parties at their houses, dozens of girls deep, just to sit around and bask in the glow of Swift's latest drama-filled albums with all the McHooks and girl power you could tip your rosé at.
It gave women in this era something to cling to that made them feel normal. Women in this era have a hard time finding a man to settle down with for various reasons, and the relationships they do get into often end badly. The reason for this is a massive mixture, but one thing that Swift reassured them of through her music is that A: it wasn't their fault, and B: anything that could be blamed on them is actually just a quirk that the man couldn't handle because he couldn't deal with the strong, independent snowflake you were.
Swift sold vapidness and self-righteousness, but expertly packaged it as nobility.
To be clear, not everyone who likes Swift's music has these flaws. Treated like any other artist, her music can have its catchy moments and can, in fact, be relatable, but let's be real: The Swifties were never discouraged from taking their self-victimization too far. Emotion was king in Swift's music, not moderation and humility. To be a true Swiftie was to be high on your own feelings at the expense of your common sense.
I'll never forget the stories of girls breaking up with their boyfriends so they could experience the full emotional impact of a new Swift album. I can remember an Instagram post of a woman (jokingly) being sad that she was about to get married to her fiancé because she couldn't take part in feeling a new Swift entry.
But now, her marriage to Kelce has her reprioritizing. The woman who became a billionaire by making masculinity an enemy of modern women while still trying to find love is now in love with a man who is very stereotypically masculine. Suddenly, the religion is without its god, and the faithful are angry.
But it doesn't stop there.
Swift has become defensive. Her new song "Cleveland!" is effectively a middle finger to all the fans who don't like her marriage and new life. To be sure, many Swifties aren't okay with being told they're wrong. This is, after all, how Swift programmed them.
Fans are saying she needs to walk away from the microphone, and in not-so-kind words. This TikTok from a fan that's coming up on one million likes and 10,000 comments, with most of them being brutal, shows how this new era is being received.
@livthetbelladdict The instrumental is literally straight out of a millennial burger joint.. what happened to her did she get a lobotomy #fyp #taylorswift #thelifeofashowgirl #swiftie #swifttok ♬ Cleveland! - Taylor Swift
The comment is on the music itself, but let's face facts: there's not much different here musically. As a man surrounded by white women in his life, I've been forced to listen to more than my fair share of Swift songs, and musically speaking, there's not a big shift in the style. What is different is the vibe and the target.
Swift used to point the finger at society for the plight of modern women; now she points the finger at other women who are angry that they can't have what Swift now does. She was their Captain in the trenches, and now she's living it up with the enemy. They would've followed her into Hell, but not Heaven.
And so the most influential artist in the world is now dying on the very altar she used to sacrifice other women's emotional stability on. I'm not sure how much she'll suffer for this. Even if her music career died today, the Scrooge McDuck vault of money she and her husband sit on will keep them happy for the rest of their lives, and longer if they know how to invest or run businesses.
The rabid fanbase that clung to her ideals around women and victimhood, however, may never recover, and for that, Swift does bear some responsibility. Not that it'll matter. Many of these angry women will just find a different god to worship.
