CNN –
Taylor Swift kicked off the Chicago leg of her Eras Tour on Friday night with a powerful Pride Month message in support of the LGBTQ community.
“I look out tonight and I see so many incredible people living authentically and beautifully,” Swift said at Soldier Field in Chicago, adding, “This is a safe place for you, this is a place for you to celebrate.”
Swift went on to tell the audience how “proud” she feels to be able to sing her equality anthem, “You Need to Calm Down,” with them “in such solidarity, in such mutual support, in such encouraging, beautiful acceptance and peace and safety.” .”
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Taylor Swift in the “You Need to Calm Down” music video in 2019.
“We can’t talk about pride without talking about pain,” she said, turning from her celebration of the community to the realities of the current political climate. She brought up what she called recent “harmful bills that have put people in the LGBTQ and queer community at risk.”
“It’s painful for everyone,” she said, adding she’s trying to educate her supporters about the midterms and major primaries to encourage them to vote.
The “Midnights” singer began speaking out about her political beliefs in 2018 when she endorsed Tennessee Democrats Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper, who were running for the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.
One of her driving factors, she said in a message on her verified Instagram page at the time, was that she “believes in the fight for LGBTQ rights and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG.”
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(From left) Shayna Weachter, Cecelia Zschunke, Riley O’Brien and Rayana Weachter scream as Taylor Swift’s performance begins, which they hear in the parking lot in front of Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May.
“We can support as much as we want during Pride month, but if we don’t research these elected officials – are they supporters? are they allies Are they protectors of equality? Do I want to vote for you?” she said on Friday.
Concluding her speech, Swift told the audience that she loves them and wished everyone a “Happy Pride Month”.
As Swift celebrated with her Chicago crowd, hundreds of ticketless Swifties showed their support collect Saturday night outside Soldier Field to sing along to the show.
The gathering has become a pattern at various stops on the “Eras Tour,” beginning in May when thousands of ticketless Swifties flocked to Philadelphia’s Lincoln Field to sing and dance.