"It was kind of devastating to realize that I hadn’t been publicly clear about that..."

“Maybe a year or two ago, Todrick and I are in the car, and he asked me, ’What would you do if your son was gay?’”

According to Taylor Swift, that question is what prompted the Lover singer to take a more public stance when it comes to LGBTQ rights.

“The fact that he had to ask me… shocked me and made me realize that I had not made my position clear enough or loud enough,” she reveals in Vogue’s September issue. “If my son was gay, he’d be gay. I don’t understand the question.”

“If he was thinking that, I can’t imagine what my fans in the LGBTQ community might be thinking. It was kind of devastating to realize that I hadn’t been publicly clear about that,” she continues.

Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Vogue writer Abby Aguirre then asks Swift why she is so vocal about LGBTQ issues now, citing her video for “You Need to Calm Down,” which featured queer celebs, a GLAAD shout-out, and a link for fans to sign a petition supporting the Equality Act. Swift responds by saying “rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male.”

“I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of. It’s hard to know how to do that without being so fearful of making a mistake that you just freeze. Because my mistakes are very loud. When I make a mistake, it echoes through the canyons of the world. It’s clickbait, and it’s a part of my life story, and it’s a part of my career arc.”

As NewNowNext previously reported, Swift made a generous donation to GLAAD. “Taylor Swift continues to use her platform to speak out against discrimination and create a world where everyone can live the life they love,” said GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement. “In today’s divisive political and cultural climate, we need more allies like Taylor, who send positive and uplifting messages to LGBTQ people everywhere.”

The Grammy winner reportedly also donated about $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) in April, thanking the organization for its ongoing fight to prevent anti-LGBTQ bills from becoming law in her home state.

Ahead of the midterm elections last November, Swift boosted voter registration in Tennessee by using her platform to support Democratic candidates over anti-LGBTQ Republican Marsha Blackburn, writing “I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights.”

“In the past, I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions,” Swift admitted at the time. “But due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now.”

Swift had been harshly criticized for her lack of participation during the 2016 presidential election, specifically her failure to publicly support candidate Hillary Clinton like fellow pop stars Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Her political silence led some to conclude that she may have conservative Republican views.