American pop sensation Taylor Swift has been criticized by (mostly leftist) fans for appearing to cynically embrace feminism as a marketing tool while remaining unwilling to publicly declare her support for progressive politicians. For a star who started out as a crossover country music sensation - and who famously published an editorial explaining her business strategy in the Wall Street Journal - Swift's management team undoubtedly believed that publicly bashing then-candidate Donald Trump would be a massive liability when it came time for Swift to tour on her next album.

But earlier this year, cracks in Swift's apolitical facade began to form when she expressed support for the March for our Lives movement. And on Sunday, Swift officially abandoned her policy of "staying away" from politics when she, in a length Instagram post, expressed her support for LGBTQ and women's rights and condemned Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Senate in Tennessee. Swift then publicly endorsed Blackburn's Democratic opponent Phil Bredesen, as well as Democratic House candidate Rep. Jim Cooper (though she grew up in Pennsylvania, Swift got her start in the music business in Nashville).

Swift claimed that, while she loves supporting women in office, Blackburn's voting record simply "appalls and terrifies me".

"Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn," Swift wrote. "Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Rep. Jim Cooper for House of Representatives."

Read the full post below:

Bresden thanked Swift for her endorsement in a tweet, saying he is "honored to have your support":

Thank you for the kind words @taylorswift13. I’m honored to have your support and that of so many Tennesseans who are ready to put aside the partisan shouting and get things done. We’re ready for it. Last day to register to vote is October 9. https://t.co/6Xd6YyaJCG pic.twitter.com/CatUBkXPKe — Phil Bredesen (@PhilBredesen) October 8, 2018

With this in mind, we can't help but wonder: Will Swift choose to embrace her newfound political agency by taking some bold new activist stance? Or maybe start a twitter war with President Trump? Or maybe this will be the last we hear from Swift about politics, given that her managers are probably keeping a close eye on ticket sales and music streaming revenues as they wait to see if this bold new marketing strategy pans out. After all, it seemed to work for Nike...