Taylor Swift's friends are upset over a New York Times opinion piece that questions her sexuality.
The essay, written by Anna Marks, questions whether the hitmaker, who was spotted leaving a Los Angeles gym on Thursday as she prepared for the international leg of her Eras tour, might be gay.
Those close to the 34-year-old Grammy winner question the morality of publishing the article.
“There is a Taylor-shaped gap in people's ethics right now because of her enormous success,” a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
The content of the article is based on conjecture, and the insider questioned whether there was a double standard when publishing the comment.
Taylor Swift's boyfriend is upset over a New York Times opinion piece that questions whether the 34-year-old hitmaker is gay. The article suggests outfits like this one she wore to Wango Tango in June 2019, and some song lyrics may convey a message about her sexuality
“This article should not have been written about Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans,” they told the news station.
“There seems to be no line that some journalists won't cross when writing about Taylor, no matter how intrusive, untrue and inappropriate it is – all under the protective veil of an 'opinion piece,'” the person explained.
The article, titled “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do,” by one of the newspaper's opinion editors, looks at lyrics from the Lover artist's work that she thinks Sapphic might love.
“Anyone who considers Ms. Swift's overall artistry – the way her brilliantly calculated celebrity blends with her soul-baring artistry – can see discrepancies between the story underlying her celebrity and the story captured in her songs.” will find out,” wrote the author.
Marks gave examples of her appearance, including wearing hair colors from the Bisexual Pride flag or wearing rainbow dresses.
She also hints at so-called Easter eggs in the song's lyrics, which refer to staying in “glass closets” in Willow or a homage to lesbian artist Louie Fuller during her Reputation tour.
“In isolation, a single dropped hairpin may be meaningless or accidental, but taken together they are the unfolding of a ballerina's bun after a long performance,” the editor wrote.
“These hairpin turns appeared in Ms. Swift's artistic output long before queer identity was undeniably marketable to mainstream America. “They suggest to queer people that she is one of us.”
Taylor's supporters blame the publication of the article on double standards. “This article should not have been written about Shawn Mendes or any other male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans,” a source told CNN (pictured in Arlington, TX in March 2023)
The Grammy winner is currently dating NFL star Travis Kelce (pictured in New York in October 2023)
Taylor has explained her pro-LGTBQ stance as advocacy, telling Vogue in 2019, “Basically everyone has their rights taken away if they're not a straight white cisgender man.” Until recently, I didn't realize I was a pro-LGTBQ stance community that I don't belong to.
Taylor has explained her pro-LGTBQ stance as advocacy, telling Vogue in 2019: “Basically anyone who is not a straight white cisgender man is having their rights taken away,” she said at the time.
“Until recently, I didn’t realize that I could advocate for a community that I wasn’t a part of.”
In the prologue to her 1989 album (Taylor's Version), released in October, the Out of the Woods singer, who is currently dating NFL star Travis Kelce, wrote that she surrounded herself with friends because she was tired of the speculation her romantic liaisons with men.
“If I just hung out with my girlfriends, people couldn't sensationalize or sexualize it – could they? I would later learn that people could and that people would do it.”