Taylor Called Out Trump In Her New Documentary & It Was Brutal
Taylor Swift held nothing back in her new Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. Apart from addressing her years-long feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, her 2017 sexual assault trial against radio DJ David Mueller, and a candid reveal about her experience with body image issues, Swift got real about what inspired her 2018 political awakening. Taylor Swift's quotes about Donald Trump in Miss Americana are serious business.
Swift's new documentary focuses mainly on her growth throughout a decade in the spotlight. "Throughout my whole career, label executives would just say, 'A nice girl doesn't force their opinions on people,'" Swift said at one point in the film.
Swift revealed she used to be a "people pleaser," and fans were taken aback by the reason why. It turns out, after the Dixie Chicks were "canceled" in 2003 for revealing they didn't support George Bush, Swift and her team were afraid the public would react the same way if she revealed her political opinions. So, instead of speaking up, Swift remained silent, which caused backlash from fans online anyway.
Swift received tons of criticism for not endorsing a candidate during the 2016 presidential election. However, she finally broke her political silence in 2018, soon after Swift took Mueller to court in 2017 for allegedly groping her. Mueller's team did not respond to Elite Daily's previous request for comment regarding the allegations.
Swift continued her political activism in 2019 by encouraging fans to support the Equality Act, and she even addressed political and social issues in her seventh studio album, Lover. "I feel really, really good about not being muzzled anymore, and it was my own doing," Swift said in Miss Americana. "I need to be on the right side of history."
Swift also explained why she didn't support former House of Representatives member Marsha Blackburn's run for the Senate in Miss Americana, telling her team:
She votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which is just basically protecting us from domestic abuse and stalking. Stalking. She thinks that if you’re a gay couple, or even if you look like a gay couple, you should be allowed to be kicked out of a restaurant. It’s really basic human rights, and it’s right and wrong at this point...
Swift later called Blackburn, "Trump with a wig," and unapologetically shared her feelings about the current president. Less than 12 hours before Miss Americana's release, Blackburn released a statement attempting to find common ground with Swift. "Taylor is an exceptionally gifted artist and songwriter, and Nashville is fortunate to be the center of her creative universe,” Blackburn said in statement, via Variety. “While there are policy issues on which we may always disagree, we do agree on the need to throw the entertainment community’s collective influence behind legislation protecting songwriters, musicians, and artists from censorship, copyright theft, and profiteering... I wish Taylor the best — she’s earned it.”
During the documentary, Swift's publicist, Tree Paine, pointed out she might receive backlash from Trump for speaking out against Blackburn. Swift simply responded, "F*ck that. I don’t care."
In case you need a refresher, after sharing her political stance on Blackburn in October 2018, Trump publicly declared he liked Swift's music "25% less now." In the film, Swift and her crew couldn't help but laugh over his comment, since she didn't want his approval, anyway. (The White House did not respond to Elite Daily's request for comment on Swift's comments about Trump.)
Swift is definitely leaving people-pleasing in the past.
