Lena Dunham Defends Taylor Swift’s Silence On Politics And Public Dating Life

Girls star Lena Dunham is riding high on the coattails of Taylor Swift and her famous girl squad. The actress has defended her famous friend once again in a new interview.

The internet has been on fire ever since Taylor Swift urged her fans to go out and vote in the November 2016 election. One of the top search results around that time was, “Who did Taylor Swift vote for?” But the singer has never shared her input on President Donald Trump, the current political state, or who she voted for. Lena Dunham, on the other hand, made it clear that she was voting for Hillary Clinton during last year’s presidential election. Swift, 26, remained quiet when it came to the election and recent events.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the actress defended Swift’s decision to keep her political beliefs to herself.

“I just think everyone has to do it their way. When I was lesser known, I was like, ‘Who could not share their opinion?’ Then I found out that when you talk about politics, people straight up tweet you the floor plan of your house and say they’re coming to your house. You have to f***ing watch it because people are nuts.”

Dunham then went on to say that Swift is more focused on her work rather than speaking out about what’s going on in the world.

“If people know about it or they don’t, she’s never not making music, and that’s like, something that I’ve really watched with a lot of admiration. Because she’s been put through the ringer, and she’s continued to make her work. People who understand how to protect themselves but aren’t so beaten down that they can’t be creative – that to me is the greatest.”

Swift never publicly stated if she supported one of the two major presidential candidates, reports the Huffington Post. But she briefly broke her silence on election day when she posted a photo of herself outside a polling station with the simple caption, “go out and VOTE.”

She also spoke out about the Women’s March, although she received backlash, since she didn’t participate herself. Others came for Swift for using feminism when it directly benefits her. Most critics believe Swift’s silence on politics is suspect since she used her 1989 era to market herself as a feminist. They think that Swift’s transformation into a feminist icon was used as a marketing tool when feminism became a buzzword around young women and on social media.

Other than her strong feminist stance, Swift has since been silent on political matters since the humble beginnings of her career. Back in 2012, Swift explained to Time why she won’t publicly comment on politics or religion.

“I follow [the election], and I try to keep myself as educated and informed as possible. But I don’t talk about politics because it might influence other people. And I don’t think that I know enough in life to be telling people [who] to vote for.”

The singer is mostly known for writing songs about love and her failed high-profile relationships. Earlier this month, Dunham defended Swift’s dating life during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show. She told the radio shock jock that just because Swift is famous doesn’t mean her personal life should be up for criticism, reports E! Online.

“I think that young woman… it’s so hard,” she said. “I think about the relationships that I had in my early twenties and if they had been public, it would’ve been a disaster. And also, I mean, not to repeat age-old feminist points, but it’s like you know, any male actor her age who’s going out and dating is applauded and to just have a perfectly normal amount of romantic partners but be held to impossibly high standards by the press, like, it’s just an unfair and unwinnable game.”

Swift made headlines last summer when she dated Tom Hiddleston for three months just a few weeks after she split from DJ Calvin after dating for a year and a half.

Do you think Taylor Swift should use her fame and platform to speak out about politics? Do you think she should receive criticism for her dating life? Sound off below in the comments section.

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS]