Photo : Christopher Polk ( Getty Images )

Taylor Swift is a modern pop icon, but, in a social and political climate that expects its celebrities to wield their massive influence with care, she’s been criticized for prioritizing glamour pics of her lavish lifestyle over any kind of opinion on the issues currently afflicting the country. It’s not that fans want Swift’s take on Trump so much as they do a proclamation that she, unlike a particular subset of the country, stands by the kinds of basic human rights the administration doesn’t. Of course, that silence has led to 4chan trolls and assorted to neo-Nazis to maintain that, secretly, Swift is one of them.


Oh, then what a disappointment it was for them when, last night, Swift took to her Instagram to endorse Phil Bredesen, the Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in her home state of Tennessee. In the process, she took several shots at his Republican opponent, Marsha Blackburn.

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


She continued, “I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love.”



As such, she wrote, she “cannot support Marsha Blackburn,” saying “her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me.”


Bredesen expressed his thanks on Twitter. “Thank you for the kind words @taylorswift13,” he tweeted. “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.”

As The Daily Beast reports, the trolls are crestfallen. “It was good while it lasted, mates ,” wrote one. Another posted an image of a picture of Swift aflame, while another said Swift’s endorsement had cost him his “last additional bit of hope, ” causing us to wonder how, exactly, one’s entire well-being could apparently rest on the belief that a pop star might be racist.


Fox News, meanwhile , is scrambling. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk—a man best known for wearing a diaper—swung by the network to push what seems to be the right-wing narrative for Swift’s post, which is that, actually, she didn’t write it.

“I don’t think she’s the only one that wrote that post on Instagram,” he claimed. “She probably got some very bad information.”


His apparent source? 4 chan, of course! “All PR nonsense,” they claim, citing the post as a means to “get the jew media off her back.”


Kirk even name-checked his new frien d Kanye West, saying Swift’s “career has never recovered since Kanye ended it,” seemingly referring to the “Imma let you finish” heard ‘round the world.


Now you’ve had your laugh for the morning, read Swift’s full Instagram post below and, whether you live in Tennessee or anywhere else in the U.S., register your ass to vote.


[via The Daily Beast]