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Taylor Swift is no plucky underdog, but these Maga conspiracy claims are mad

Evening Standard

|

February 02, 2024

HAVE we finally reached Taylor Swift saturation point? Right now it’s impossible to move for the micro-updates.

Taylor Swift is no plucky underdog, but these Maga conspiracy claims are mad

From a flurry of amateur sleuths insisting that she somehow found time to write the terrible new spy thriller Argylle (spoiler alert: of course she didn’t) to the Empire State Building turning itself red and white because Swift was spotted eating some chicken with ketchup and “seemingly” ranch sauce (I wish I was making this one up, but alas).

And yes, before the Swifties come for me, I do recognise the irony of using up column inches to complain about over-exposure while actively contributing to it even further, but bear with me.

There seems to be a steadily mounting backlash against Swift at the moment. Some of it is justified — and perhaps even overdue. It is completely fair to critique the artistic world that she has constructed for herself over the years; the way she has carefully positioned herself as a plucky underdog taking on the big bad wolves of the music industry.

In reality, we are talking about one of the world’s most powerful stars making a series of very savvy business decisions, and successfully rebranding the whole thing as an act of empowerment, all while flogging endless torrents of tat from 10 separate merch shops, for every single one of her albums, in the process — 50 quid for a Speak Now-branded snowglobe, anyone?

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