Right now, Taylor Swift is known for being one of, if not the most, popular singers globally, with over 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and breaking record sales with her Era’s tour. Yet many challenge her success, criticising her for her cherry-picking activism style, hailing herself as a feminist yet arguably not as inclusive or liberal as she appears. Her infamous relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce has sparked outrage at her private jet usage and alarming CO2 emissions. Her ever-loyal fans are ready to harass anyone who criticises her, calling them misogynistic, and even going as far as to send one journalist, Wesley Lapointe, slurs and death threats.
Swift has most recently been criticised for her staggering CO2 emissions from her two private jets- although it is reported one was sold in January, taking flights across the world to see her boyfriend Kelce in his football matches before quickly flying back to do her tour. The most recent estimates of her emissions as of February 2024 are between 8,000- 10,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. To put that into perspective, we are likely to create 20-30 tonnes a year. For one woman, that’s a lot of gas. She has also been judged for her short trips, with many flights being under an hour, with one allegedly only 13 minutes, displaying not only the luxury and privilege she can afford but the ignorance she has for our planet. Her team has tried to do damage control, arguing that Swift has bought carbon credits to offset her jet usage, though with her fans by her side, she will likely never face true reproductions.
Taylor Swift is hailed as the pinnacle of feminism– given the title ‘Pop star feminist’ by the New York Times. Yet others criticise her feminism, finding it very restricting and manufactured. Her activism in general seems to only appear when convenient for her. Nevertheless, I do understand that she does not necessarily owe us all feminism or must always take some political stance. However, considering her own branding and how she presents herself as a feminist, it comes across as wishy-washy at times. She has called out inappropriate comments made about her, usually centred around her dating life. Criticising the line from the Netflix show Ginny and Georgia- ‘You go through men faster than Taylor Swift’, as lazy writing.
“Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse shit as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn’t look cute on you 💔 Happy Women’s History Month I guess”
Her Tweet above emphasises her own political ideology, displaying her feminist mindset. However, this feminist version of her does disappear, with criticisms over her love life last year when rumours flew of her dating 1975 signer Matty Healy. By aligning herself with someone who has publicly made racist and sexist comments, Swift’s feminism and activism could be argued as disregarded when it does not fit into the narrative she desires. Healy has made comments on a podcast about the porn he watches, specifically ones that fetishise and sexually degrade Black women, as well as comments on singer Ice Spice’s body calling her a ‘chubby Chinese lady’. Who we all associate ourselves with in life, usually tells a lot about us as a person. Although they are no longer together, Healy made these comments before their relationship, meaning Swift knew of his sexist history and ignored it.
Taylor Swift has made important moves for feminism and women, and there is no denying her phenomenal success. However, when you take a step back and truly analyse her decisions, the way she holds herself creates a very curated image, in which she attempts to hide and ignore certain comments and choices. It feels negative to criticise another woman quite deeply. However, when any Swiftie turns into a keyboard warrior at even the slightest criticism of Swift, it seems only fair to consider her actions. With her money and power, it is upsetting but not surprising, in the little care she appears to have for the climate or certain feminist movements.