The day was January 14, 2021. Olivia Rodrigo’s single “Driver’s License” was just released. A talented young artist was being recognized for the songwriting abilities she possesses. But there was a darker side to this story.
Joshua Bassett, who this song is presumed to be about was being rushed to the hospital due to septic shock and heart failure. He said that “stress had a part in it.” This stress might have been caused by media outlets and fans speculating that this song and later on an entire album was about him. This led to a tsunami of hate being sent his way and may have led to his possible death.
Music is so powerful. For the artist, it is a way to turn one’s experiences and emotions into a piece of art. For the fans, they can relate to the experiences of the artist and relate songs to their own life. But sometimes, fans take it a little too far. Fans treat artists as fictional characters and obsess over their love lives and make assumptions that can be dangerous.
I think that the best example of people speculating about an artist’s love life is Taylor Swift. For years, the media has obsessed over Swift’s dating history. One specific example showing the toll that this speculation has taken on her was when she was on the Ellen Show. Ellen shows a slideshow of men that people have assumed Taylor has dated and tells her to ring a bell when she shows someone that she wrote a song about. As the video goes on, she becomes more and more distressed, even saying that “this is the one shred of dignity that I have.” She sounds on the verge of tears and still, Ellen keeps pressing.
It is easy to assume that this behavior is only presented by the media. But in reality, Swifties have had a history of exhibiting similar behaviors. One example is “Gaylor.” Although Taylor has explicitly stated that she is not gay, (“I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of” Vogue) people create theories that she and her ex-best friend Karlie Kloss were romantically involved. Just as we should not speculate that someone is straight once they come out as gay, we should not speculate on Taylor Swift’s sexuality after she has publicly stated that she is straight.
A more recent occurrence was the release of “Taylor’s Version” of her 2012 album “Red.” This album was speculated to be about actor Jake Gyllenhaal who dated Swift when he was 29 and she was 20. After releasing a 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” fans flocked to Gyllenhaal’s social media pages to call him a “predator.” While I do think that their relationship was problematic, it took place over 10 years ago.
Based on Taylor’s body language on her performance of ATW on SNL, it seems like time has flown and she is no longer paralyzed by it. Taylor is obviously over this relationship, and I think that it’s about time that as Swifties, we stop harassing her exes.
Again, music is incredible because we can relate it to our own lives, not to observe human beings like they are TV show characters. Maybe we should just use All Too Well as a cautionary tale as to why we shouldn’t date that thirty-year-old dude who is obviously in a different place in life than us. Artists should be able to express themselves through their music without the fear that fans are going to harass whoever the song is written about.
Going back to Olivia Rodrigo, I believe that she has every right to write about her exes. But we as fans should not speculate about who these songs are written about and harass said people. These are real people that we are speculating about and our actions have real consequences.
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