Taylor Swift’s Good And Bad Week After Women’s March
Taylor Swift’s week was filled with vilification and praise. At the beginning of the week, Swift was suffering a backlash after she tweeted her support for the Women’s March that took place last weekend.
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/822929499851526146
As the Huffington Post notes, not everybody was thrilled since Swift didn’t go to the march herself.
“In recent years, Swift has transformed herself into somewhat of a feminist icon, in part by surrounding herself with a ‘girl gang’ of famous female friends and crafting punchy lyrics about relationships. But, as many have pointed out, her public image also seems like a convenient marketing tool.”
The article points to another one from the now closed-down Gawker that pointed out Taylor Swift was using other women as tools for self-promotion and distilling feminism for her own benefit. Many commenters after the article believe that bashing Taylor Swift is rather anti-feminist.
“Interesting that women are using a movement of women empowerment to tear down another woman simply because she’s not doing enough, according to them,” says Jay Declean.
“Taylor Swift did nothing wrong. She tweeted in support of the march. The proper response is ‘thank you for your support.’ She has no obligation to support the march, much less attend,” claims John Carl O’Neil.
Still, there were many on Twitter who criticized Swift.
fuck you. you stayed quiet all through the election process to ensure your record sales wouldn't fall victim to a divided USA
— LiL B THE BASEDGODDESS (@b_luss) January 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/chrisrollins_/status/822967569988677633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Washington Post also elaborated on what made Taylor’s tweet so controversial. Author Emily Yahr stated that Taylor Swift had been completely silent about the election until election day, where she just posted a picture of herself going to vote. She didn’t actually say who she was voting for or talk about any of the issues. Like the other articles mentioned, the tweet seemed disingenuous.
Fortunately, Taylor Swift also had some good news this week as she released the video for “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” her duet With Zayn Malik, that has climbed to No. 8 on Billboard‘s Hot 100. Rolling Stone describes the new video, which was released on Friday.
“The Grant Singer-directed video opens with Malik maneuvering his way past paparazzi toward an elevator, where he meets Swift. Anguish between the couple begins, with Malik throwing Polaroids and smashing chinaware and Swift pulling petals off a flower.”
Rolling Stone adds that far from 50 Shades-level steaminess, the clip shows the heartbreak and anger that results out of the couple’s falling out. The video was filmed at London’s St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Taylor and Zayn have received a lot of praise on Twitter.
@taylorswift13 Taylor,you are perfect.
Love you ! ^^
Amazing video was IDWLF@zaynmalik Zayn is my boy and I love him !#1YearOfPillowtalk— Follow Me Z (@MaakaMaka2) January 29, 2017
the new video w/ Taylor is extremely amazing! I can't describe with words how much I enjoyed it!
— mel (@amygrangerx) January 27, 2017
Some would consider 2017 a make-it-or-break-it year for Taylor Swift, especially because she is going to release a new album. It’s quite possible that no matter how successful the album is, Taylor won’t match the success of 1989, and people will call it a flop no matter how well it sells. Still, Taylor Swift’s fans will appreciate any new music from the superstar.
[Featured Image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]
