Taylor Swift’s been in the music industry since she was 14 years old, and has been a great success, with her “Eras Tour” grossing $2 billion in sales and selling over 10 million tickets. Now pushing 40, she has simply lost her touch with the majority of her fans, no longer appealing to the average life of a teenage girl.
Swift is one of the most successful women in the music industry, and the richest woman artist with a net worth of $1.6 billion. Her success shows in her actions and most recent album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” had fans ecstatic when it was announced on Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” on Aug. 13. Then, 13 days later, Travis Kelce and Swift publicized their engagement on her Instagram. The timing of this album’s announcement was calculated, with Swift introducing her album on her NFL-boyfriend’s podcast and announcing her engagement with him 13 days later, Swift’s lucky number.
The main goal of Swift’s new album release was profit. Her lyrics lacked effort and depth and came across as out of touch and insensitive. In her song “Cancelled,” for instance, the lyric “Did you girl-boss too close to the sun” is not only cringe, but also not a clever metaphor nor a play on words. Artists referencing pop culture in their music make you completely disassociate and come across as a millennial trying to fit in with the popular Generation Z crowd.
Later in the song, Swift sings, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled,” which seems to be an accurate statement, as Swift has been known to be in cohorts with MAGA supporters such as Brittany Mahomes and the hosts from the football podcast “Bussin’ With The Boys,” Will Compton and Taylor Lewan. Swift knows her fans buy her merchandise, vinyl records and tickets no matter what she does, who she is seen with or how lazy her new music is.
Swift has endorsed Democratic candidates in the past, primarily Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Aug. 4, calling Swift “woke” and “no longer hot.” However, once Trump heard about Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement, he told a reporter he “wished them a lot of luck,” raising questions about a possible planned endorsement or possibly an opportunistic marketing scheme.
Life is hard for millions of Americans right now with tariffs introducing higher prices for goods and services, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tearing families apart and surging prices in healthcare, among other issues. Swift has not spoken out about any of these hardships and has also been silent on the genocide occurring in Palestine. Her endorsement of previous Democratic candidates was merely a way for her to get by without the anger from Democratic voters.
Swift doesn’t want to lose a large portion of her fans for her personal opinions. As she’s one of the top celebrity polluters due to her private jet, as well as staying silent on issues directly affecting her fans, is concerning and offensive to say the least. Swift is focused on her image more than the well-being of her fans.
One can be a successful musician and speak out about policies and issues they care about. For example, Zach Bryan is currently facing backlash after releasing a snippet of a new song, “Bad News,” on his Instagram, criticizing ICE, and saying they’re “gonna come bust down your door.”
Swift recently told BBC about her fears of her music drying up if she was finally “happy and free” and nurtured in a relationship. It seems like the time has come when her music has dried up, and she no longer relates to love-sick teenagers.
Swift is not a young girl anymore. She’s a 35-year-old woman who is capitalizing on the loyalty of her fans and continuing to push the narrative she’s like one of us, a woman who goes through heartbreak and struggles, finding ways to overcome it. The truth is, she can no longer hide her extreme privilege stemming from the fact she is a white, rich pop-star who never had to struggle a day in her life.
Fiona Petticrew is a sophomore studying communications. Please note that the views expressed in the column do not reflect that of The Post. Want to reach out to Fiona to talk about her column? Email her at fp074825@ohio.edu or message her on Instagram @fionapetticrew.
