There are few things we love to see more than our favorite music industry ~queens~ standing up for each other — which is why we are so here for Taylor Swift and Hayley Kiyoko’s recent show of support for each other, even after some haters tried to start drama between them.
It all started when, in an interview with Refinery29 about her newly-released album Expectations, singer Hayley Kiyoko spoke out about the homophobic reactions she receives from music producers when she wants to make music about women.
“I’ve had several music industry execs say ‘You’re doing another music video about girls?'” Kiyoko told Refinery29. “I literally looked at them and was like um, yeah… Taylor Swift sings about men in every single song and video, and no one complains that she’s unoriginal… I’m not over-sexualizing my music. I make out with women because I love women, not because I’m trying to be sexy. That’s not to turn heads—that’s my life.”
Unfortunately, a few Swifties were quick to misinterpret Kiyoko’s comments as a jab — and they weren’t happy. Luckily, Tay caught on quickly and shut the drama down by noting that Kiyoko’s comments were totally valid.
“Exactly. We should applaud artists who are brave enough to tell their honest romantic narrative through their art, and the fact is that I’ve never encountered homophobia and she has,” Taylor said, responding to a fan’s Tumblr post. “It’s her right to call out anyone who has double standards about gay vs straight love interests.”
In fact, Taylor herself has even echoed similar sentiments before, noting that she’s often criticized for her lyrics about her love life and relationships, while male artists are typically given a free pass.
“You’re going to have people who are going to say, ‘Oh, you know, like, she just writes songs about her ex-boyfriends,'” she said in an interview with Time back in 2014. “And I think frankly that’s a very sexist angle to take. No one says that about Ed Sheeran. No one says that about Bruno Mars. They’re all writing songs about their exes, their current girlfriends, their love life, and no one raises the red flag there.”
Kiyoko was clearly feeling the love after Swift’s kind words, and took to Twitter later in the evening to thank her for rising above the drama.
and respect to @taylorswift13 and all the brave artists out there sharing their truth with the world. I appreciate you. We keep climbing.
— Hayley Kiyoko (@HayleyKiyoko) March 31, 2018
Now let’s all just stop trying to start feuds between powerful women where there aren’t any, K?