Why The Taylor Swift Nazi Comparisons Just Won’t Let Up [Report]
Taylor Swift has received even more Nazi comparisons. A group of white supremacists dubbed Taylor Swift an “Aryan goddess,” claiming that she supports their far-right beliefs and is waiting for Donald Trump to get elected as president for her actual beliefs to become public.
It should be noted that Swift is not affiliated with any white supremacist groups. She has never made white supremacist remarks, nor has she been accused of talking about them in private. However, that hasn’t stopped the rumors from swirling that Swift is a low-key Nazi supporter and “Jew hater.”
So, where did these rumors originate from? Broadly did an investigative report into the history of the Swift-neo-Nazi fascination. It includes a quote from Andre Anglin, who runs the Daily Stormer website, talking about Swift’s “sculpted Aryan form.”
“Firstly, Taylor Swift is a pure Aryan goddess, like something out of classical Greek poetry. Athena reborn. That’s the most important thing. It is also an established fact that Taylor Swift is secretly a Nazi and is simply waiting for the time when Donald Trump makes it safe for her to come out and announce her Aryan agenda to the world. Probably, she will be betrothed to Trump’s son, and they will be crowned American royalty.”
There’s also a Taylor Swift for Fascist Europe Facebook page, who praises Swift’s “Nordic blood” and the fact that she’s not “having [redacted] with colored gentlemen” like most of her pop contemporaries. Basically, they praise Swift for befriending and dating white people and for looking white, as well.
It’s not clear why some neo-Nazis have chose Swift as their idol, but some reports link their obsession to a Pinterest user who has been posting memes of Adolf Hilter quotes and attributing them to Swift since 2013. Pinterest has done nothing to remove the memes and the user, whose real name is Emily Pattinson, refuses to delete her board, according to Broadly.
my Hitler Quotes Attributed To Taylor Swift are doing well. this one has 277 repins pic.twitter.com/pRv21tEgck
— game show goddess (@poopcutie) August 30, 2013
“I didn’t continue making the quote images, but I didn’t delete my board either,” she told the outlet.
However, this isn’t the first time that Taylor Swift has been compared to a Nazi. Last year, feminist writer and theorist Camila Paglia referred to Swift a “Nazi Barbie” in her published piece on the Hollywood Reporter. She also slammed the pop star for showing off her girl squad on stage at her tour.
“In our wide-open modern era of independent careers, girl squads can help women advance if they avoid presenting a silly, regressive public image — as in the tittering, tongues-out mugging of Swift’s bear-hugging posse. Swift herself should retire that obnoxious Nazi Barbie routine of wheeling out friends and celebrities as performance props, an exhibitionistic overkill that Lara Marie Schoenhals brilliantly parodied in her scathing viral video ‘Please Welcome to the Stage.’ “
Swift has since responded to the claims in an interview and says that her friends deserved every right to be on stage with her during her 1989 World Tour simply because they support her career. Countless stars have joined Swift on stage including Ellie Goulding, Leona Lewis, Mick Jagger, and Idina Menzel.
However, the first batch of Nazi rumors started way back in 2009 when people were shocked to see a photo of Swift smiling next to a guy wearing a Swastika on his chest. Swift attended former friend Katy Perry’s birthday party, where her guests painted their clothes with various words, letters, splatters, and symbols. Swift unknowingly took a photo next to a guy who proudly painted a bright red Swastika on his chest.
“Taylor Swift Parties With Nazis,” read a headline from Celebjihad.com. Coincidentally enough, the controversial outlet referred to Swift as a “blond hair Aryan super racy beauty.”
.@taylorswift13 Does the JH stand for “Jew Hater”? Clear the air. Get this off of your chest. pic.twitter.com/V2dDBLIBfr
— Dawn Wiener (@Tess) August 16, 2015
Meanwhile, some believed that the “JH” on Swift’s dress stood for “Jew Hater.” However, it’s clear that the initials stand for Julianne Hough, Swift’s friend, who she was also photographed with at the party.
Why was Swift posing next to a guy with a Swastika on his chest? And who is he, anyway? Swift’s rep responded to the controversy, claiming that she was unaware of the incident or the guy in the photo.
“Taylor took pictures with about 100 people that night… she doesn’t know who this guy is and she didn’t realize what was on his shirt.”
TMZ revealed the identity of the man, who’s said to be A.J. English, and he claims that Swift couldn’t have noticed the symbol on his shirt when he pulled her in close for a photo. English also added that the symbol started out as an “X” but became more “perverted” by the end of the night. He claims that he is “not racist,” and has since apologized to Swift about the photo.
What are your thoughts on the Taylor Swift-neo-Nazi comparisons? Sound off below in the comments section.
[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com]
