This summer, I despised Taylor Swift. I couldn’t stand her music, her lyrics, the way she acted at awards ceremonies, but more than anything else I hated her fans. I couldn’t stand the way they worshipped her. It all came to a breaking point when Olivia Rodrigo admitted she hadn’t seen the ‘Eras Tour’ in person.
The comments were full of “Swifties" claiming Rodrigo was using Swift for clout and fans for “Guts." I haven’t sent a Twitter reply in months, but that day I was close. The audacity of a group of people to assume one of the most popular artists alive needed to start beef to sell a record was wild to me.
Last week in the aftermath of the Chiefs vs. Bears game, I laughed while watching some deranged Swifties share their unprompted opinions on whether or not Travis Kelce was good enough for their favorite pop star.
Then, I had an epiphany: Swifties are no different than any other passionate fan. As frustrated as they’ve made me, what I realized is the only difference between Swifties and any other fan base is there are millions upon millions of Swifties, while other artists are lucky to pull half of the fan base. Although I still don’t care for Swift’s music, I finally understand her fanbase.
Swift fans leave negative comments
For so many Swifties, Swift carried them through the darkest of times. Whether it was getting through a breakup, grieving or any other scenario, Swift provided a good outlet for them that would be almost impossible to repay. Swifties feel indebted to Swift, and therefore protect her as best they can. I restrained myself from getting in a Twitter war with Swift fans earlier this year, but a younger version of myself absolutely would’ve engaged in that.
Of course, some fans take it too far, but when you have as many fans as Swift it’s reasonable to expect a few bad apples. Not to excuse their behavior, they are absolutely sociopaths, but they exist in every fanbase.
Swift fans are unreasonable
Obviously, Swift fans can seem to throw logic out of the window when discussing Swift, but of course they’re unreasonable – their relationship with Swift is completely personal.
My favorite directors are Christopher Nolan and Michael Mann. I used to say they weren’t the best dialogue writers to seem objective. The more I think about it though, Nolan and Mann are my favorite dialogue writers in the world. The fact that they do some things so well makes what could be viewed as even average dialogue resonate more with me than even great dialogue in some circumstances. I’m not able to differentiate objective from subjective when it comes to my favorite creators, and Swifties shouldn’t be expected to do so either.
Swift fans sometimes attack
It used to bother me that Swift fans would hate people for speaking their dislike for Swift, but then I had a realization. Swift is their favorite person in the world. When all someone knows about you is that you hate their favorite person in the world, of course they aren’t going to like you. I can think of plenty of times when I’ve thought much less of someone for simply having beef with my best friend.
Bobby Gorbett is a senior studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Bobby know by tweeting him @GorbettBobby.
