As Kanye West continues his quest to become the rights ultimate poster child, ranting on S.N.L. in a Make America Great Again cap and visiting the White House, Taylor Swift has gone in something of the opposite direction. Earlier this week, the singer endorsed a Democrat for Senate in Tennessee and said shell always vote for candidates who protect human rights for everyone. As Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show, “This is a big deal. Because you realize, until now Taylor Swift has stayed as far away from politics as she has from rhythm.”
Its true that Swift has long avoided making political statements, even as countless other celebrities have committed to making P.S.A.s and urging fans to vote blue—which rankled some on the left in 2016. The ire only intensified as alt-right conservatives embraced Swift as an icon, of sorts, thanks to a conspiracy theory that she was actually a white supremacist. Since Swifts pro-voting message, however, there has also been a surge in voter registration.
That could easily be a coincidence; after all, Tuesday was the voter registration deadline in many states, and young voters tend to register late. Still, Noah believes its entirely possible that Swift had something to do with the surge. After all, “If anyone can convince young people to vote, its the woman who somehow got people to buy physical CDs because they werent on Spotify.”
Since Swifts proclamation blew up the far rights fantasy about having her as an ally, shes faced backlash. Disappointed conservative fans have, naturally, expressed dismay on Twitter, while Donald Trump jokingly told reporters, “Lets say I like Taylors music about 25 percent less now, O.K.?” That, Noah said, is a strange way to express ones displeasure.
“What does that even mean?” Noah said. “Is he now going to cut up 25 percent of his Taylor merchandise?”
“Look,” the host continued. “I know right now there are conservatives out there who are pro-Taylor Swift and are feeling conflicted at this moment because she endorsed the Democrats. . . [but] if youre a real Taylor Swift fan, you know what you gotta do: shake it off.”
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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