Is Taylor Swift pop music’s last big badass? Or has this always been done? Time Will the magazine’s person of the year use his famous anointing to air old meat?
Because the magazine actually chose Swift as the star of 2023. Time person of the year. The global music phenomenon joins the roll call of presidents, popes, peacemakers and 2022’s elected Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Swift is the first person to be singled out for her contributions to the arts, and the first woman to be honored twice (she was part of the #MeToo “silence breakers” group in 2017).
You start reading the interview, expecting the standard hyper-controlled mega-celebrity PR bloat. Then suddenly, in a spate of brilliant words, Swift begins blaming Kanye West (now Ye) and his then-wife Kim Kardashian for a messy situation dating back 14 years (when West ruined Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards , saying her award should go to Beyoncé).
For the benefit of those who don’t know, years later Ye released the song Famous, which included lyrics about how he and Swift could have sex (“I made that bitch famous”). Swift refused to confirm (all) the lyrics. Kardashian released a recording stating that she consented. It was later revealed that the recording had (allegedly) been edited, but not before Swift was denounced as a snake (hinting at a global invasion of snake emojis on social media).
As appalling as the situation sounds, I’m confused: Why is Swift offering Ye and Kardashian years-old shade?
Swift now speaks without mentioning any names Time “career death”, “hiding”, “having my life and sanity canceled by an inch”, “my life’s job being taken away by someone who hates me” interview. As appalling as the situation sounds, I’m confused: Why is Swift offering Ye and Kardashian years-old shade? And in all the inappropriate places, Time person of the year interview? Contrary to the growing notoriety of the event, you could be eavesdropping on someone feeding a whore in a nightclub toilet. Which 21st century pop culture icon to do This?
Talent aside, is Swift changing what a megastar should be and how she should act in public? And considering the time, it’s pretty refreshing, right?
I would be too old and too late to join the “Swifties” (Swift’s fiercely loyal fans who turn any insult against their self-actualizing queen into online Armageddon). Swift’s recent triumphs alone are dazzling. Best selling albums. The ongoing Eras tour, reported on the Ticketmaster site to be the first tour to top the billion-dollar mark, has caused demand to plummet and boosted local economies. He was just declared the most listened to artist of 2023. The list goes on and on.
Relating to: Taylor Swift’s Eras tour becomes first tour to gross over $1 billion – report
The result is a life spent under constant surveillance. Their relationship (currently with American football player Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs) doesn’t fare well under media scrutiny, where it gets roasted, roasted and charred. Each expression is tracked, tagged and returned to nature to reproduce. Swift knows this, but still refuses to keep his trap closed.
In fact, this isn’t Swift’s first sultry challenge rodeo. It took a lot of stances, including having music manager Scooter Braun acquire the rights to their early material (another complicated situation). Ignoring the shrugs, sighs, and patronizing voices (that’s the way the music industry works, forget it, honey!), Swift re-recorded the entire record to take back control. What’s more, creatively, a wing of Swift’s oeuvre is devoted to barely veiled allusions to her exes: the art of songwriting, burning sage like a witch, is used as a form of post-coital cleansing ritual—and why not?
In some ways, this goes beyond Swift and becomes relevant to the broader machinations of modern artist engagement. Increased public relations intervention (“Go ahead!”; “Next question!”). No-go areas. Barricades have been put up to ensure that nothing interesting is said or (heaven forbid) printed. In this repressed age of celebrity as a closed community, Swift’s Time the interview is the equivalent of him throwing a grenade and then whistling away.
This time, the PR watchdogs may have a point. Given Ye’s public embarrassment (companies withdrew their collaboration and support after he made anti-Semitic and other statements), this is not the time to dust off an old controversy and reintegrate your brands. Also questionable are the optics of weaving a story of great personal pain. Time person of the year and continue your billion dollar tour.
It feels good to see this streak in such a famous person. Unstoppable mouth, mob-level demand for revenge
In fact, some might view Swift’s behavior as arrogant, petty throwing toys out of the stroller, a sign that she’s become (gasp!) a bit of a monster in some ways. The only logical response to this is: Even if he did it in some weird way, it’s kind of cool, right?
Beyond journalism, it feels good to see this streak in such a famous person. Unstoppable mouth, mafia-level demand for revenge. Refusing to give up beef. Even though you may have felt inclined to frame Swift as a kind of Catherine de Medici of pop (female revenge fantasy fleshed out, it can’t be appeased), this is a radical, revolutionary act in a climate of insipid speeches from shy, self-censored, foul-mouthed celebrities It sounds like.
Then there is the age factor. Most angry/motormouths grow up this way. Swift should have “learned” when she was 33. The self-censor must be at the peak of brand protection. Instead, recent events show that his outbursts are not the excesses of youth. This is how La Swift spins for the good, the bad and everything in between; it is that.
All of this makes Taylor that much more interesting for this newly minted Swiftie. More than a hugely successful artist, more than a pop culture comet, and Time The person of the year 2023 was his original self from the beginning. Isn’t this all we want from artists?
• Barbara Ellen is an Observer columnist