‘I used to love Taylor Swift, but her shallow politics have turned me away’-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

There are more and more disillusioned Swifties every day (Picture: Getty)

As Taylor Swift continues her globe-spanning Eras Tour the pop star has never risen higher, but behind-the-scenes former Swifties are denouncing the artist.

Taylor, 34, is one of the most talked about artists in the West. Her Eras Tour – covering her two-decade, 11-album-long career – has seen the who’s who of A-list talent and literal royalty pass through the crowd.

Her country songs and pop anthems, from Love Story to Blank Space to Anti-Hero, have been a mainstay in the top 40 for months, if not years.

And the entire world has rallied behind her as she re-records her early albums to reclaim the rights from her controversial ex-manager Scooter Braun.

Alongside building her extensive global music brand, the Grammy-winning artist has also tried to burst beyond the trappings of celebrity culture with her heartfelt 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana where she talked about politics and her struggles in the industry as a woman.

Her skyrocketing popularity has resulted in an army-like fandom, known as Swifties, who have caused such high ticket sales for her tour that even Ticketmaster couldn’t handle demand, and a heavy-handed social media presence defending the singer against any backlash.

The chart-topping singer is growing in popularity… or is she? (Picture: Getty)

But with worldwide notoriety comes inevitable criticism.

Over the years, more and more people have questioned Taylor’s self-proclaimed dedication to making meaningful change in the US.

In the past year alone she has gained billionaire status (a controversial label considering the ethical implications), had her private jet usage scrutinised by climate-change activists and an increasingly vocal band of fans pushing her to speak up for Gaza amid the ongoing attack from Israel.

However, those who defend the singer have pointed out that she didn’t even scrape the top 30 in the ranking of celebrities’ private jet CO2 emissions according to My Climate Tracker.

And has a longstanding tradition of donating to food banks while touring, most recently contributing to the Cardiff Foodbank charity.

Yet her continued silence, deflection of certain topics, and ignorance of the protests happening at the arena’s front door have pushed some fans to shout enough is enough.

TikTok creator Iman, 19, made a viral post in February garnering almost 90,000 likes and plenty of backlash in the comments for outlining exactly why she is no longer a Swfitie, despite following the artist since she dropped Blank Space.

Iman uploaded a viral TikTok sharing her dismay (Picture: Iman Rizwan)

‘She only uses feminism to promote or protect herself,’ Iman told Metro.co.uk. ‘Her feminism is for white people – she easily turned blind eyes to those who look like me.’

The singer faced similar accusations when she spoke up in defence of Lady Gaga following pregnancy speculation. Some fans pointed out this is the first time in a while she has used her platform for social-political purposes to support a fellow rich singer.

‘It’s obvious she hasn’t taken the work to learn more about intersectionality,’ fellow ex-Swiftie, Sandra*, 26, echoed. Sandra opted to change her name in fear of the fans coming after her.

‘That’s why her feminist sentiments are always so shallow and self-serving. Sometimes, her feminism even actively harms others.

‘I can’t forget when she tried to call out Netflix for that joke about her in Ginny and Georgia. And when her fans started attacking the Black actress who said the joke she said nothing.’

It was a similar tale of disillusionment for ‘sceptic Taylor Swift fan’ Ami, 25. Although Ami had a Taylor Swift ‘stan account’ in high school and ‘wouldn’t shut up about her’, this has radically changed.

‘Even when I watched Miss Americana, I was surprised at how she managed to make her whole “activism” about denouncing one republican senator,’ Ami explained.

‘I think that her whole co-opting of girlhood and neoliberal feminism are also two things that I really can’t get behind.’

Ami questioned how much her re-records are about ’empowering’ herself when she hasn’t used the increased publicity for good, necessarily.

‘Taylor Swift has stopped being an artist and has just become a brand. The “activism” and “empowerment” she promotes is just as shallow as a bank changing their logo for Pride,’ she added.

For Ami, long gone is the Taylor who created albums such as Folklore in a bid to ‘achieve some form of immortality’.

‘Once you become a billionaire, I think you become devoid of humanity to some extent,’ she said.

Amina is another fan who refuses to support Taylor anymore (Picture: Amina Tahir)

Taylor’s commitment to using her platform for good (shown in releasing her LGBTQ+ rights music video You Need To Calm Down) was also the turning point for Sandra.

She explained: ‘I understand that celebrities aren’t activists, and at some point in the past, I actually didn’t expect Taylor to voice her political opinions.

‘But things changed when she released the Miss Americana documentary. In that documentary, she literally talked about wanting to use her voice for good moving forward.’

This jumble of issues drove away Amina, 22, who has historically attended Taylor Swift-themed nights and said to see her concert.

‘By principle, I do not and cannot support a billionaire,’ she slammed.

‘This, along with her extreme private jet use and silence on [the situation in Palestine] despite being arguably the most famous woman on the planet at the moment, have made me come to the conclusion that she is not someone I should be supporting.’

She is not alone in upping the ante for Taylor to speak out on the situation in Gaza. Previous tours have been affected by pro-Palestine protests and a concerted fan movement has been created called Swifties for Palestine.

The fan collective has been covered by the likes of the Washington Post and Time magazine and managed to have their hashtag trending on X.

Popular pages such as @notswiftietillmylastbreath have also released statements saying they have ‘distanced’ themselves from the singer due to her silence on Palestine.

And in Edinburgh alone, politically active Swifties organised to hold the singer to account when she arrived to kick off her UK tour earlier this month.

The Edinburgh Gaza Genocide Emergency Instagram account wrote: ‘Being able to attend concerts and other events comes with a responsibility to recognise what is possible when we come together for what we believe in.

‘Everyone reading this has power to advocate for an end to the genocide. The first step is breaking the silence.’

Iman believes there is a real shift happening within the fandom.

Is there a shift happening among fans? (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock)

‘I feel like since [my] video, more people have become disillusioned with her. They are realising that her behaviour towards others is impactful and no longer support her,’ she said.

Although Ami thinks many are too far gone.

‘With stan culture in general, a lot of people latch onto her and don’t detach or accept any criticism about her either. She’ll just end up losing the fans who actually have a backbone and keep the ones who don’t have any critical thought,’ she explained. 

But for some, there is no going back or redeeming herself.

The star does have a vocally devoted fanbase (Picture: Getty)

‘I truly don’t think we’ll ever see her take a stance against anything unless she can profit off of it, she cares too much about money and fame,’ Ami said.

Although all agreed it is not a fan’s burden to change an artist’s mind, they do ‘enable and justify’ the behaviour sometimes.

Sandra expressed the sheer helplessness disillusioned Swifties are now facing.

‘Frankly, I don’t think she can do anything anymore to regain my trust. At least, that’s how I feel now. And besides, I don’t think she would even care what I have to say. After all, I’m just a stranger, and she’s the biggest pop star on the planet.’

Although there is a growing number of critics, Taylor’s ignorance hasn’t stopped her popularity from remaining steadfast. Her sold-out Eras Tour is constantly making headlines and her recent concert even caused earthquake-like effects.

But as her silence continues, could her fanbase be at real risk of vanishing?

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Taylor Swift’s representatives for comment.

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