Taylor Swift Breaks Her Silence

With one of America’s most important elections to date fast approaching, many have tried to engage the youth vote. Taylor Swift, however, has had an unprecedented effect on the most difficult voter demographic. On October 7th, Swift made an Instagram post in which she spoke about her political leanings, a topic she had previously remained silent about.

Within her post, she discussed her distaste for incumbent representative Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee, as well as encouraging her followers to vote Democrat. The impact of her post was more than anyone could have expected. It is reported that more than 65,000 people registered to vote as a result of Swift’s post.

Many celebrities have encouraged people to vote due to the upcoming election. Usually they undergo a more nonpartisan approach, unlike Swift’s take. Whether or not the registered voters will actually show at the polls is still up in the air. Some of the beliefs she voiced in her post included advocacy for LGBT+ and women’s rights, as well as outrage towards systematic racism in the US.

Additionally, she elaborated on how Blackburn voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that attempts to protect women from domestic violence, date rape, and stalking, and how she finds Blackburn’s voting record to be appalling. Interestingly enough, a simple Google search of one the candidates she endorsed, Phil Bredesen, showed that despite her seemingly strong belief on violence against women, Bredesen supported then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was famously accused of sexual abuse.

While it’s difficult to find a candidate you agree with on every topic, some thought it was fairly hypocritical of Swift to preach the importance of “educating yourself of candidates…and vote based on who most closely represents your values,” while simultaneously endorsing a candidate who supported a man that has been accused by 3 women of sexual assault.

One of her fundamental beliefs are women’s rights, and so to support Bredesen seems out of character for Swift. Despite her arguably wishy-washy stance on politics, she undeniably motivated enough young people to register to vote that her role in this election has become pivotal.