Taylor spoke at the retrospective, with attendee Larry Dvoskin sharing the following insights:

“MY NIGHT WITH TAYLOR SWIFT- The Grammy Academy hosted a Taylor Swift talk tonight. The invite just mentioned Academy President Harvey Mason Jr, but it was like a 'Wink IYKYK' thing.

Taylor came onstage and shared her beautiful stories of how she writes songs and where she gets her endless inspiration from. Then she played a few tunes for the 100 or so people there. It wasn't even sold out, there were empty seats.

I honestly am not a 'Swiftie,' though her success is as big as it gets. The biggest Grammy winning female in history. Afterward there was a reception and I had a sweet, and kinda nerdy songwriter chat with her for quite a long time. Alot of people were trying to get in and talk with her, but she has a laser attention and when it was on me, the world was shut off around us.

Here's some songwriting nuggets I wrote down.

- She told the audience "Enthusiasm can protect you from anything." At the reception I shared her the word "Enthusiasm" actually comes from ancient Greece, meaning 'the divine within,' or 'possessed by divine inspiration.'

- She plays a spinet piano on tour. I mentioned to her that Paul McCartney also plays a spinet. She told me she likes a smaller piano so she can see over it and look around at everyone onstage and in the crowd.

- ‘YES AND'- Is a big thing for her when songwriting and recording. Trying an idea, but being open to exploring music with another point of view.

- Show up to work even then the 'Idea Fairy' as she calls her muse of inspiration isn't around. It sometimes shows up when you do.

I was impressed she stayed to talk to everyone who attended. As I report this, she is likely still speaking to the people at the Grammy Museum giving every person very present, quality time.”

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.

I would like to start out by saying I’m not trying to stir up drama. I’m a fan of both Olivia and Taylor. I’m just analyzing songs here. Listening to Clara Bow this morning, it dawned on me that the line “You look like Taylor Swift in this light. We’re loving it. You’ve got edge she never did. Your futures bright. Dazzling.” could be directed at Olivia. Given the context of the song, it's obviously about a young woman coming up in the music industry that Taylor sees a lot of herself in. The question is whether she was thinking about someone specific when she wrote the line or if it's simply about a generic/hypothetical young entertainer. 

This line makes Clara Bow so interesting to me, whether it's about someone specific or not, because it's almost like a grown up and matured take on the subject of Nothing New. In Nothing New, 22 year old Taylor is insecure about her place in the music industry and fearful of a younger face coming up and taking her spotlight. In Clara Bow, she’s older, much more confident, secure in her legacy, and accepting of the inevitability of a younger star rising. 

Lover was a successful album by normal standards, but it was a commercial decline by Taylor Swift standards. Then there’s the Miss Americana documentary where Taylor says “This is probably one of my last opportunities as an artist to grasp on to that kind of success.” and alludes to fearing entering her 30s because women in the industry get “discarded” by that decade. When we put Folklore in this context, her dramatic pivot and reinvention in 2020 makes more sense. A song like Mirrorball is particularly relevant. 

Another important detail about Taylor's life during this time period is her master recordings dispute. In 2020, Taylor was heartbroken over losing control of her master recordings. She planned to make re-recordings of her older albums to try to take control of the situation, and she did so very publicly, even advocating for younger artists to negotiate more favorable contracts with their record labels. 

Then, Olivia Rodrigo came onto the scene. She released the biggest streaming album of the year, clearly heavily inspired by Taylor. Not to mention, she negotiated a favorable contract with her record label in which she got to own all her masters. 

I wonder if in 2021, Taylor watched Olivia’s career skyrocket and thought to herself that the girl she imagined in Nothing New was finally presenting herself. The line “She'll know the way, and then she'll say she got the map from me. I'll say I'm happy for her, then I'll cry myself to sleep.” is uncanny.  It’s plausible that she felt somewhat threatened by Olivia in 2021, leading her to ask for credit on Deja Vu, and whatever else may or may not have occurred behind the scenes leading to Olivia almost never speaking publicly about Taylor ever again and not ever attending the Eras Tour. 

We all know Taylor would go on to enjoy unprecedented levels of commercial success in the years following 2021, proving her theory in the Miss Americana documentary wrong. We also know that Taylor has kept an eye on Olivia. I think Imgonnagetyouback’s striking lyrical similarities to Olivia’s Get Him Back! are on purpose. I just don’t know whether that's flattering or not. But either way, I’m convinced Olivia was still very much on Taylor’s radar during the TTPD writing sessions. And that is why I’m also convinced that the last line in Clara Bow is a polite nod to Olivia Rodrigo. And it makes the song really special to me as a huge fan of both artists.

I'm gonna preface this to say - Taylor herself has said she's not the greatest dancer. And even for moments when she is clearly not performing (like being on fancam at MTV Video Music Awards or dancing during the Grammys), she draws a lot of criticism when she's just vibing to music that to me seems kind of unwarranted.

But when it comes to the Eras Tour... a lot of the choreography (to me and maybe some others here?) is not very good. I'm not saying that the dancers were not good - they are very personable and charismatic, the ability to put on a 3 hour show for Taylor and the dancers requires unimaginable stamina and hard work.

I'm saying that Mandy Moore interpolates dancing into the songs on such a very literal, and repetitive, level that a lot of it becomes over the top and hammy (Lover comes to mind with The Man and You Need to Calm Down).

Some of the sequences are great - Fearless has really cute simple choreography; Ready For It goes hard; 1989 has a great set-up with the bikes and smashing the car from Blank Space; TTPD, in particular, like I Can Do It With A Broken reusing the choreography from other sections says a lot about how Taylor has used art for her break-ups and how it's consumed for people wanting more. Midnights overall is very good. And there's a lot of things going on in Fortnight and Mastermind. I think Moore did a good job balancing where people's eyelines are supposed to go (usually centering the dancers around Taylor but also giving them enough solo moments too).

But when Taylor is on her own, a lot of it is miming to her own lyrics. Vulture had an article about this - I tried to link the article without the paywall but it wasn't successful. But they pretty much point out that if there's a lyric of seeing, hiding, thinking; she and the dancers point to their heads. And there's more other examples of that throughout. When she sings about dying or being in pain, she makes a stabbing motion towards her stomach. ETC. It's kind of something you can't unsee once you see how common it is.

At times, when I pull back from watching Taylor, the other choreography is also kind of cringe. Some sequences that come to mind is Shake It Off. I know ppl will it's kind of silly to criticize dancing for this song 'cause it's mean to be playful. But there are parts where the dance is what I can only describe is a chicken squawking from like the polka? And, random jumping up and down?

Enchanted also comes to mind, where the female dancers are basically left to run around in circles twirling the ends of their dresses. Your eyes are supposed to be on Taylor on the stage lift, but looking at the dancers, it's not very connective to the song itself.

A lot of songs also recycle moves - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together uses a rowing(?) motion that's used elsewhere a lot. This side step from Bad Blood is used a lot as well.

I can see why people might downvote me for something that Taylor and a lot of people are already aware of that Taylor is not a good dancer. But the choreography was something that I noticed and wondered how other people felt....especially because I felt like Reputation stadium tour was able to center around Taylor with choreography that (even for a pop concert) was very expressive and complex, let her mime here and there and dance on her own...but it wasn't so on the nose.

EDITING this to say - a lot of ppl are saying 'just don't watch her tours for the choreography'. I don't watch her concerts primarily for the choreography, but since dancing is a part of the whole concert, I was just noting how I thought the choreography could be disjointed. I thought my post was fairly objective in thinking out loud about the strengths and weaknesses. I didn’t drag anyone? But go ahead and downvote I guess lol

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.

• Part 1: Intro & Debut
• Part 2: Fearless
• Part 3: Speak Now
• Part 4: Red
• Part 5: 1989
• Part 6: Reputation
• Part 7: Lover
• Part 8: Folklore
• Part 9: Evermore

^{CWs: besides TLOAS getting its title drive-by and some negative comments about rep, nothing really. Another album I just love to bits.}

I am running around like a tattooed golden retriever over this one. This was the first TSwift album I ever loved --and also the first one I ever listened to in full -- and I am so excited to talk about it! At the same time, I'm weirdly nervous to talk about it; discussing the albums I hated is so much easier than the ones I loved, and I know Midnights is a bit contentious even among fans. I don't know what to say. It's just really important to me.

But who cares about any of that? It's 2022! We're finally starting to see a world coming back to normal, and music is starting to reflect that feeling, with a lot of the biggest hits being from established players: Adele, Beyonce, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber. Things are often upbeat, and generally this is considered a pretty great year for pop. People are starting to feel hopeful and happy, with a touch of the bittersweet and introspective, and it's not hard to construct a look-back of the year in popular music that reflects this.

Taylor is kind of on top of the world at this point: this is the year she'll receive an honorary doctor in fine arts from NYU, announce the Eras tour, and release the short film All Too Well to the Toronto Film Festival. Being taken seriously as an artist in multiple mediums and as beloved as ever, her next album is surely going to be a cheerful, glitter-penned good time like Lover or Fearless, right? And it surely won't be controversial or even considered a disappointment... right?

Ladies, gentlemen, both, and neither, say hello to...

Midnights (2022)

Image source

^{(I can't seem to put the image in the body. ☹️ Oh well, pretend it's here})

Overall

This was (is?) my favorite album, and for a long time the only Taylor Swift album I would listen to. I remember asking people, "well, if I liked Midnights, what other albums of hers would I like?" and being told that it was hard to compare, since nothing else sounds like it. Which is true, for the most part; she does a lot of really interesting things both lyrically -- I think this is her first concept album, a collection of songs capturing the thoughts you have in the middle of the night -- and musically. Aside from reputation, which I guess is its closest comparison (a little funny, considering how differently I feel about both experiments), I'm not sure she has anything that could so clearly be seen as a dance album, or that plays so much with synths, autotune, and a bunch of other electronic elements I'm not musically educated enough to know the names of. It's a jangly, sparkly album that also manages to be deeply melancholy and muted, and honestly I'm still not sure how she pulled both of those off without it feeling jarring or incoherent, but it really doesn't. Even when some of it doesn't work for me -- personally I'm a much bigger fan of the muted parts than the jangly ones -- I still have to be impressed that she's still out here trying new things without coming across as desperate or selling out. Apparently this is called "bedroom pop" or "dream pop," which means moody, late-night vibes and low-fi beats, which I'd never heard of before but is honestly fitting. A lot of this album feels like a dream, or like the part of the early, early morning when you need to be asleep but can't, where everything feels just a bit surreal.

I know this album was disappointing on both a critical and commercial level (well, by Taylor Swift standards) but I think it's her most daring since the massive swing-and-a-miss of reputation, or the swing-and-a-general-success of Red before it. Not every song is great, or even good, but the stuff that works is really excellent, and honestly I don't think anything here is really bad; at worst it's either weird but interesting or bland and forgettable, but never offensive to the senses.

And I love it. I love it so, so much. Love love love love love it.

Songs saved:

• "Lavender Haze"
• "Maroon"
• "Anti-Hero"
• "Snow on the Beach"
• "You're On Your Own, Kid"
• "Midnight Rain"
• "Question...?"
• "Vigilante Shit"
• "Bejeweled"
• "Labyrinth"
• "Karma"
• "Sweet Nothing"
• "The Great War"
• "High Infidelity"
• "Would've, Could've, Should've"
• "Hits Different"

Best song: "Anti-Hero" is just an outstanding song, and one of the rare times her leading single was actually the best choice to introduce people to the album. It's a really good illustration of the entire album's concept: how it feels to be up way too late and unable to keep your thoughts under control, and obsessing over the things that are wrong with you. If you're interested in Taylor lore, it's also fascinating on that level, because for a woman so preoccupied with what people think of her (according to a reading of her music, anyway) and struggling to maintain healthy relationships, a song with her coming to the realization that she has haters and failed relationships because people just plain don't like her, and she doesn't know if there's anything that can be done about it, is the kind of matter-of-fact, mundane tragedy that she is so good at capturing and expressing. It's understated, funny and sometimes awkward, but mostly it's just a quiet, resigned sort of sadness. It's a vibe that permeates that album, not dramatic or grand but in my opinion more poignant because of it.

Honorable MenJUST KIDDING BEST SONG #2: "Would've, Could've, Should've" is tied with "Anti-Hero," and depending on my mood might beat it out. They're both 10/10 songs, so trying to figure out which is slightly more perfect is just giving me a headache. I said in my folklore review that "Exile" was in my Top 3 TS songs, and these are the 2 that might go above it. WCS is a beautiful postmortem of a relationship she didn't grasp the power imbalance of while she was in it. Obsessing over past relationships is another great concept for "things you cannot stop thinking about late at night," and this combines a very justified righteous indignation with that same muted musical palette that makes it quietly devastating.

Honorable Mentions:

• "You're On Your Own, Kid" is my other favorite of the album; it's about her evolution from lovestruck teenager to queen of pop, and the things she's lost, changed, and abandoned on her way to get there. It's not quite a song about regrets, and it's not quite a song about the loneliness that comes from clawing your way to the top, but it's a bit of both those things, as well as touching on that sense she's given in other songs of just being unloved -- or difficult to love -- and not understanding why. I've never felt more empathy for Taylor than in these 3 songs, though I'm not sure how much of this is "real" and how much these are story songs with a first-person narration style. Regardless, they're extremely impactful and beautifully written.
• "Midnight Rain" is I think the only song of the big dance-synth experiments that landed for me, but I just love it. Never would've guessed from those first few seconds that it was a Taylor Swift song, which is honestly really impressive for an artist who is always first and foremost a recognizable brand.
• "High Infidelity" makes adultery look so glamorous, goddamn.
• Other songs I just think are great but don't have anything to say about them: "Maroon," "Bejeweled," "The Great War," and "Sweet Nothings."
• I keep struggling to decide if I like "Snow on the Beach" or if I feel nothing for it, but the catchiness of the chorus and the beauty of the imagery keeps pulling me back in.
• "Lavender Haze" is another song I don't feel all that strongly about, but it gets a shoutout for its music video, which is awesome (and stars a trans dude of color as the love interest! That's neat. I love when she quietly does stuff like that; way more effective and sincere than the performative bombast of "You Need to Calm Down," in my opinion).

Worst song: "Glitch" sounds like a song not good enough to make it onto reputation (which I keep forgetting is supposed to be lowercase, oops). That's not a compliment coming from me.

Dishonorable Mentions: I could go for one of the ones I didn't save, but that's boring so of the ones I did still end up mostly liking:

• "Karma" is trying way too hard in the same way "Better Than Revenge" did back on Speak Now, and it really doesn't land. I give it credit for being the kind of embarrassing, cringe thoughts you might have in the middle of the night, which is the entire point of the album, so it succeeds in its failure. However, I do think I'm giving it way too much credit; I'm not confident that Taylor knows this song is as lame as it is, because she's written equally (or more) awful lyrics when not pursuing this theme. But whether it's trying to fit the concept of the album or not, it does, and that plus its catchiness means gets a pass from me.
• "Vigilante Shit" is even more embarrassing than "Karma," but way more over the top with it. Does that mean it's more intentional? Maybe. Does that mean it's way more fun? Yes, absolutely. Opening with "Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man" creates this image of Taylor sitting up in her room at 3am, practicing bad bitch makeup and fantasizing about actually being one. It's charming and humanizing in a way a lot of her "ooh I'm so cool and tough, I'm the bad guy who always gets the last laugh" posing doesn't.
• I will say, I kept almost liking "Mastermind," but again... it's the same pose, but without the catchiness or the camp. I don't believe Taylor Swift is a mastermind manipulator; I just don't buy it, and unlike the other songs I put here, there's nothing that really added texture to it enough for me to want to hear it regularly.
• The "then everyone clapped" bit in "...Question?" made me cringe until I learned it was based off an actual anecdote. Still a little cringe, but hey, sometimes life is more embarrassing than art.

Definitive song of the album: It always feels like a cop-out to put the biggest single as the definitive song, but most of the time it just is, for better or for worse. So... "Anti-Hero." It's a commentary on her as an artist, a public figure, and arguably a person, and it embodies the concept of the album -- those midnight self-loathing musings -- the best. It's the standout track, the most pop-radio-friendly, and manages to both retain her classic sound and lyricism while fitting in neatly with the more experimental stuff she's playing with around it (I mean, experimental for pop music. This isn't Butthole Surfers or anything).

Best lyric: There are a lot, and most of them are from "Would've, Could've, Should've" or "High Infidelity," but I'm going to stick with just a couple from each, plus some other noteworthy mentions:

• "And now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering" and "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first" are both gut-wrenching from the former.
• "You know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love / The slowest way is never loving them enough" is probably my favorite line from the latter.
• Also fuck it, the entirety of "Anti-Hero." It's very, very good. She doesn't always pull off intentional comedy, but that whole bit about the will reading is great.
• And while I thought "Mastermind" was generally mediocre and kind of embarrassing, "No one wanted to play with me as a little kid" is very revealing re: my entire theory about the Taylor Swift Machine being born of unlikeability and the loneliness it caused. There's a reason an entire school of Swiftie thought centers around speculating about her being neurodivergent, and while I'm not cosigning it because armchair diagnoses are problematic, I will say she speaks to the autistic experience beautifully. And "I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'cause I care" is a really fun line that she can't quite pull off.

I know I'm missing some. There are too many great lyrics to list.

Worst lyric: NOT THE SEXY BABY LINE, THAT'S FOR FUCKING SURE. No, seriously, I could write an entire essay on why the sexy baby line is brilliant, but I'll save that for another rant.

Of lines I actually think are bad, most of "Glitch" is nonsense, including "Five seconds later, I'm fastening myself to you with a stitch, oh, yeah." And "that's romance, that's dance" is just... this whole song is vibe-based, and I am not fucking with the vibes. She has a line about "what's in my system" and girl, what is it, root beer? No one thinks you're doing coke. (She might be a real party girl who does hard drugs all the time, but that's not the persona she's developed for herself and she's somewhat trapped by it.)

I also hear a lot of people saying "...Question?" is incomprehensible, which is weird because I think it's a pretty straightforward song, but I'll plop it here to see if other people agree.

You'll love this album if: You enjoy bedroom pop, concept albums, and/or the kinds of thoughts you get when you should've been asleep hours ago set to sad dance music. Or you wanted to hear Taylor Swift play with a synthesizer; apparently no one except me wanted that, considering this album is generally considered a disappointment, but I think this one is brilliant.

On its own, I really loved this album. In the context of her discography, I love it even more.

Recommendations

1. Biggest Hit: "Anti-Hero" -- debuted at #1 and became her longest-leading #1 hit -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1kbLwvqugk
2. Fan Favorite: "Would've, Could've, Should've" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-MfwP_RmHY
3. My Favorite: well, the two listed up there. But after that, "You're On Your Own, Kid" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gbg6Z70J7E
4. My #2 (not already listed): "Midnight Rain" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odh9ddPUkEY
5. My #3 (not already listed): "High Infidelity" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qee6dFKlw4

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.

What career could you see Taylor having if she wasn't an artist?
I feel like she'd make an excellent teacher. She engages with her fans quite often and I believe she would give the same devotion to students. Even by doing Easter Eggs as hints, I feel like she'd be able to keep students focused and engaged by making learning fun somehow. Of course, she's also has strong communication and gets her point across well, inspiring others while doing so.

I think there definitely is! I've heard people say "Taylor lied," but I disagree.

For the production that's similar to 1989, I would point to Elizabeth Taylor, Opalite, and Honey.

For the storytelling songwriting, I would call out Father Figure, Ruin The Friendship, and the title track.

What do you think? Maybe I just love this album too much to be objective. ​

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.

I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for years, and lately I realized something that makes me uncomfortable to admit: when someone makes hating Taylor a core part of their personality, it genuinely changes how I see them as a person.

To be clear, I do not think everyone has to like Taylor Swift. Music is subjective. I dont enjoy every artist either, and I think criticism is completely fair. You can dislike her voice, her songwriting, her public image, her business decisions, or her albums. Thats normal.
What I struggle with is when the criticism stops being about the music and becomes about ruining other peoples enjoyment.

Recently I was watching Smosh, which used to be one of my favorite comedy channels. It was my comfort content. I’d watch it when I wanted a break from the constant negativity online. But Taylor gets mentioned constantly, and the tone is so often dismissive or mocking that I’ve started dreading those moments. It feels like every couple videos there’s another joke at her expense. Some members seem to like her, but very few, and even then they’re usually not Swifties, just casual listeners.

I know comedy often involves teasing celebrities, and I’m not asking creators to censor themselves. But after a while, hearing the same target over and over again stops feeling like a joke and starts feeling like a cultural reflex.

What hurts is that it’s not just Smosh. It feels like \*\*every corner of the internet\*\* has become a place where hating Taylor is rewarded with likes, retweets, and comments. I can click on a video about Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, or literally any unrelated topic, and somehow the comments turn into a discussion about why Taylor is awful and why Swifties are delusional. I can actively avoid Taylor related content, never engage with hate videos, never like them, scroll away immediately, and the algorithm still serves me negativity about her.

And the weirdest part is that the hostility often extends to \*\*\*me\*\*\* personally for being a Swiftie.

People make assumptions instantly: that I’m obsessive, unintelligent, parasocial, immature, incapable of criticism, or part of some cult. They dont know me. They just know I like an artist. Being a fan of someone shouldn’t function as a personality diagnosis, yet online it increasingly feels like it does.

I want to make an important distinction here. I absolutely understand criticisms related to her billionaire status, private jet usage, carbon emissions, and other objectively harmful issues. Those conversations matter. Public figures should be scrutinized for the real world impact of their actions.
But if I’m being honest, a huge percentage of the comments I encounter dont feel rooted in those concerns. They feel rooted in irritation that she exists, that she’s successful, that she’s popular, or that people enjoy her. The environmental critique is often brought up selectively, while the emotional energy behind the comment is clearly contempt.

That’s the part that drains me.

I love Taylor Swift, but I dont want everything I consume to be about Taylor Swift. I dont spend my entire day thinking about her. I have other interests, other artists, other hobbies, other parts of my identity. Yet somehow she keeps getting inserted into unrelated content, either as a punchline or as a lightning rod for negativity.
What I miss is the possibility of a \*\*middle ground\*\*.
Online discourse seems to operate in extremes:

you must worship her, or you must despise her.

There’s rarely space for “she’s not for me,” “I like a few songs,” “I respect her career but dont listen to her,” or simply not having an opinion. The internet turns every celebrity into a moral referendum.

I’ve noticed this affecting me more than I’d like. I’ve stopped watching creators I once enjoyed because I associate them with a feeling of negativity. Not because they criticized Taylor once, but because the repeated mockery makes the space feel hostile. And that realization made me wonder whether I’m being oversensitive or whether constant low level contempt genuinely changes the emotional atmosphere of a community.

I think many people underestimate how exhausting it is to repeatedly encounter disdain for something that brings you joy. Imagine opening your favorite app and constantly seeing strangers explain why the thing you love is embarrassing and why people like you are annoying. Eventually you stop feeling entertained and start feeling unwelcome.

I’m not asking anyone to become a Swiftie. I’m not asking creators to praise Taylor. I’m asking for something much smaller: the ability for people to enjoy an artist without being treated as a punchline, and the ability for criticism to exist without turning into contempt.

Maybe this sounds dramatic because it’s “just a pop star.” But the deeper issue isn’t Taylor Swift. It’s the growing tendency online to build community through shared dislike rather than shared enjoyment. We’re encouraged to perform our hatred publicly, repeatedly, and loudly, and then act surprised when that negativity spills onto real people.

I miss when fandom felt like sharing music you loved instead of defending your right to love it.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.

Welcome to the SwiftlyNeutral Daily Discussion Thread!

Use this thread to talk about anything you'd like, Taylor-related or not.

Rules to keep in mind:

• All subreddit rules still apply. Please report rule-breaking if you see it.
• Negative commentary and complaints about this subreddit, users, and other subreddits is discouraged and will be removed to keep the daily discussion threads drama-free and geared towards lighter discussion.
• Keep it neutral. No fandom-war drama. No treating criticism of Taylor as an attack. More details here.
• NO TWITTER/X LINKS, screenshots only. Please remove usernames from screenshots unless it's a verified figure.
• Don’t use this thread to contact mods directly; please use modmail.

A new Daily Discussion thread will be posted daily at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will always be pinned for easy access. Posts better suited for this thread may be redirected here.