By now, you probably know that over the weekend, world-renowned megacelebrity Taylor Swift broke her legendary silence on anything even remotely political. She wrote a lengthy post on Instagram endorsing Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen in the state of Tennessee, and explicitly aligned herself with progressive politics and the LGBT community.
More notable than any stance she took was the fact that Swift took any stance at all. Swift has been historically tight-lipped about politics, having risen to fame through the more conservative country-music scene before transitioning to pop music. She did not make her political preferences known in 2016, and she did not give any interviews for the rollout of her most recent album, Reputation.
Swift’s social-media presence is, on the other hand, a little less consistent. On Twitter, she does not follow anyone and rarely clicks “like.” On Instagram, it’s the same deal. This can lead to the impression that Swift, or whatever assistant LARPs as her on social media, is avoiding active engagement. (Which is fine! She’s not a politician. She doesn’t need to be an open book.)
The official Taylor Swift presence on Tumblr, however, is a little less guarded. Tumblr, a social network known for its fostering of intense fandoms, young user base, and generally progressive leanings, is a hive of Swift activity, and one that she is relatively active on. You may recall a couple of years ago when Taylor emerged in paparazzi photos wearing a custom shirt that read “no, it’s becky” — that’s a Tumblr-born meme.
You can also track what the official Taylor Swift account on Tumblr is liking (31,132 posts as of now). Many of the recent ones are stans reacting to her Instagram post.
Here is a sampling:
She knows about Big Dick Energy:
She liked a post about once-rival Katy Perry liking her own Instagram post:
She liked a tweet from CNN media reporter Brian Stelter:
She liked a post containing embattled meme frog Pepe:
And perhaps most controversially, she like an object-label meme of her kicking Republicans.
That last one, obviously a joke and obviously figurative, is being reframed by some as an endorsement of physical violence from Swift herself.
Anyway, that’s what’s up with Taylor Swift.
