‘Are You Ready for It?’ Let’s talk about this Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift situation
Miss Americana herself, Taylor Swift, has an interesting past with politics. She used to keep it out of her music. Then, in Miss Americana, she said she needed to be more vocal given the complexity of American politics of the last few years. So why is she hanging with a Trump supporter?
Swift, who has supported Kamala Harris in the past when she was running with Joe Biden, recently caused a stir when she didn’t sit near the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Brittany Mahomes and Swift had gotten close as the pop star dated Travis Kelce, but after Mahomes was called out online for liking posts about Donald Trump, fans were tuned into their friendship.
At the opening game of the season, Mahomes and Swift were not seated near each other. Many thought this was Swift’s way of saying she doesn’t support Mahomes’ political choices, but then came the US Open in New York City.
Swift was there with Kelce and the Mahomes couple. She was photographed smiling and hugging Brittany Mahomes, and fans were disappointed. With a lot on the line this election, seeing Swift smiling and hugging a Trump supporter isn’t exactly the move people want. That paired with Trump stealing Swift’s likeness and the singer doing nothing about it (yet) really didn’t sit right with fans.
When Swift has gotten politic in the past, it has been, often, at the last minute. She endorsed Biden on October 7, 2020. The election was less than a month out. A lot of celebrities had been campaigning to help Biden win. The cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe all banded together later that same month for a push, and the cast of Parks and Recreation did it earlier in September. Those are entire casts of things. Swift waited.
Why do people care?
Swift has a lot of power, whether she wants it or not. The Swifties cling to her every word. They are people who will voice their opinions and make it known. If Swift breaks up with a boyfriend? He’s a villain no matter what the pop star says. So if she tells them to vote for someone, chances are that it will mean something. Hanging around a Trump supporter when you haven’t even endorsed a candidate? Not really using that platform for the betterment of society.
And she’s not the only singer with a platform who hasn’t sad anything. Beyoncé has not endorsed a candidate, but she did allow the Harris/Walz campaign to use her song as their official song. So it is a step in the right direction, and Beyoncé may just be waiting for a time later this month to use the Bee Hive to the best of her ability. I would have granted Swift that same grace prior to her hanging out with Mahomes again.
I’m not saying she can’t be friends with her. People on the left are friends with Trump supporters—not me, but those people do exist. But Swift doing so publicly and making a big show of it doesn’t send the message I think she wants it to. It isn’t about accepting people for their differing views. Trump is straight up going to take away women’s rights when he’s in office, so all of those lines about feminism in Swift’s songs won’t matter anymore. But I hope Brittany Mahomes is a good hugger!
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