Taylor Swift Alt-Right Link: ACLU Chastises Singer’s Bullying Of Blogger Who Claims Racist Eugenics In Lyrics
Is Taylor Swift subtly supporting white supremacy through her music? One blogger certainly thinks so and has penned a blog post about Taylor’s silence in the wake of white nationalists and alt-right members co-opting lyrics in her song. Taylor Swift threatened to sue the author of the post for defamation and was quickly blasted by the ACLU for bullying, saying the racist allegations are protected free speech.
A potential court battle is brewing between Taylor Swift and the American Civil Liberties Union. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization notified Taylor’s attorneys that it stands by a California-based blogger who accused the “Bad Blood” singer of clandestinely giving a nod to the alt-right movement and enabling its racist agenda.
The “strongly worded” letter, as described by the Washington Post, was released to the public on Tuesday. It attacked Taylor Swift and her camp for purportedly using the singer’s celebrity and platform to deny an unknown blogger the constitutional protection for free speech.
Michael Risher represents the ACLU’s Northern California chapter. He said Taylor’s threats of a lawsuit are “completely unsupported” by civil statutes.
Taylor’s legal battle began on the heels of a post published by Meghan Herning titled, “Swiftly to the alt-right: Taylor subtly gets the lower case kkk in formation.” Herning equates Swift with the late German dictator, Adolph Hitler, in her blog post. She also assails Taylor Swift on the grounds that she is supporting the alt-right’s push to create a homogenous society. Further, she claims pop singer is a supporter of its “racist eugenics” rhetoric.
Herning’s attack supposedly is “fairly convoluted” and she offers no definitive evidence in support of Taylor Swift’s white nationalist sympathetic ties. At the center of her argument is white supremacists, specifically, the alt-right, appearing to have made lyrics in Taylor’s song their calling card.
Moreover, Swift appears to be a party because she has failed to disavow the racist groups publicly. Herning wrote that Swift’s verses contain “dog whistles to white supremacy” and said her unwillingness at this point to set the record straight has exacerbated the situation.
“Taylor’s sweet, victim image is the perfect vehicle and metaphor for white supremacists’ perceived victimization.”
Herning says that Taylor’s hit single sounds like an “indoctrination into white supremacy” for girls.
“At one point in the accompanying music video, Taylor lords over an army of models from a podium, akin to what Hitler had in Nazis Germany. The similarities are uncanny and unsettling.”
Rightly so—> Taylor Swift threatens legal action against blogger who compared her to Hitler, ACLU responds https://t.co/6jaDmoUsD6
— T (@tee_vee17) November 7, 2017
Taylor’s team fought back and contacted Herning with a “cease and desist” letter. Swift’s legal team said the accusations are “provably false and defamatory” and demanded that the PopFront blog take down the inflammatory story or legal action will follow.
The ACLU chimed in on the brewing court battle. Risher’s team notified Taylor’s lawyers that neither the blogger, nor the site owner is under obligation to retract the post and have no legal requirement to do so. The group shot back at Taylor’s attempts to quite the blogger and said defamation doesn’t hold water.
Call it what you want, @taylorswift13, but it's not defamation. https://t.co/D0FJ0CigdQ
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 6, 2017
“The blog post is a mix of core political speech and critical commentary; it discusses current politics in this country, the recent rise of white supremacy, and the fact that some white supremacists have apparently embraced Ms. Swift, along with a critical interpretation of some of Ms. Swift’s music, lyrics, and videos.”
“Criticism is never pleasant, but a celebrity has to shake it off, even if the critique may damage her reputation, not even in your wildest dreams could Swift’s claims constitute defamation.”
Herning decried Taylor’s actions, saying the press should not succumb to bully tactics from rich celebrities and well-compensated attorneys retained to fight their battles against diminutive figures. The ACLU posted her remarks on Twitter.
Taylor Swift attempts to silence critic, ACLU says not in your Wildest Dreams. pic.twitter.com/I0dgCguUmf
— ACLU of Northern CA (@ACLU_NorCal) November 6, 2017
“These scare tactics may have worked for Taylor in the past, but I am not backing down.”
The ACLU gave Taylor Swift and her legal counsel a deadline of Nov. 13 to respond how they want to proceed.
Do you think Taylor Swift is aligning with the alt-right movement in her music?
[Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com]
