Swift superfans may not like her rumoured new boyfriend, but she deserves to have a life of her own, says culture writer Shaad D’Souza
for the New Yorker, the writer Jia Tolentino described Healy as being “no longer invested in the project of being publicly correct”.
In the #SpeakUpNow letter, circulated by a number of Swift’s fans and reported on by a handful of major news outlets, the authors urge Swift to “reflect on the impact of your own and your associates’ behaviour”, “advocate for inclusivity, celebrate diversity, and promote empathy and understanding”, and “actively engage in this process of personal and social transformation”.
this will probably read as massive, incomprehensible overreach: an example of people acting in a bizarrely paternalistic and proprietorial way over a star whom they supposedly love. If youfollow stan Twitter with any regularity, you know that this behaviour now passes for business as usual. The star/fan dynamic has almost inverted in recent years: many musicians now take their cues from social media.
By way of admission: I can relate to how lots of fans are responding to the stars’ relationship. I used to bekind of fan, thinking that an intense devotion to someone’s art should translate into some level of input on their day-to-day life. In 2018, when I was 20, I wrote an opinion piece criticising the musician Grimes’s relationship with Elon Musk, arguing that it was in direct opposition to her political leanings.
So I don’t blame some fans for having that worldview: a lot of the people who spend hours online posting about their favourite artists are extremely young – younger than you would expect. But I’m also certain that a lot of people should know better, at this point, than to make demands – or threats – over who a pop star chooses to date. While Swift’s music may be fans’ business, her life needs to remain her own.
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