Taylor Swift is a Resilient Queen
We can all learn something from her about taking control over our lives
Once Upon a Time…
The media has a long, complicated history with Taylor Swift. “Our Song” captivated my generation and we fell in love with her as a curly-haired, fairytale-obsessed, boy-crazy country music star. Since the day she exploded onto the scene, she’s been evolving, rarely staying within one era for long. Before our very eyes, she transformed herself into a bonafide pop princess, collecting famous boyfriends like infinity stones and putting out what felt like an annual Album of the Year contender.
Despite her commercial and financial success, Taylor couldn’t seem to stay out of the headlines. Notably, she beefed with several of her exes, namely John Mayer and Joe Jonas, and had an infamous feud with Katy Perry. Most of the time, she had the public on her side, partly because much of her fighting was done through her song lyrics. But then the Kimye fuse was lit.
(Why does it feel like everything comes back to Kanye?)
As we all remember clear as day, in 2009, Kanye interrupted Taylor’s VMA acceptance speech with his infamous, “I’mma let you finish,” line, and fans watched in shock and horror as a 20-year-old Taylor stood there clutching her award, mouth agape. Taylor gave Kanye props publicly for calling her to apologize and being “very nice,” but in 2013, he took back his apology, citing that he’d fallen to peer pressure five years prior.
In mid-2015 the musicians agreed to let bygones be bygones. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Taylor said, “…I like him as a person. And that's a really good, nice first step, a nice place for us to be.” The same month that interview was published, Taylor presented Kanye’s MTV’s Video Vanguard Award at the VMAs joking, “I first met Kanye West six years ago – at this show, actually!” Afterward, Kanye sent her flowers. (Below)
Things were hunky dory for less than a year, which turned sour when Ye debuted “Famous” in February 2016. In the single he rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ Why? I made that bitch famous (Goddamn)/I made that bitch famous.”
Less than a week later, a now 28-year-old Taylor delivered an empowering speech, shading Kanye without directly calling him out. "[A]s the first woman to win album of the year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to all the young women out there, there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame."
Things were quiet for a bit until Kim Kardashian (West, at the time) decided to air out the dirty laundry in an interview with GQ, saying Taylor “totally” approved of the lyrics and knew it was coming out.
The Reckoning
Here’s where things began to crumble beneath Taylor’s feet. Kim eventually released Snapchat recordings of a phone call between West and Swift, in which Taylor does give approval for the “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex” line, but is not warned about the statement “I made that bitch famous.” Despite this discrepancy, KUWTK stans flooded Taylor’s social media with snake emojis and nasty messages.
Taylor defended herself with one final message, making the infamous, “I’d very much like to be excluded from this narrative…” statement and subsequently hid away for nearly a year, refusing interviews, declining attendance to award shows, as she worked on her comeback in the form of reputation.
The Comeback
Since the release of her sixth studio album, we’ve seen a new Taylor: one that isn’t afraid to curse, who’s dropped the ‘good girl’ act, and who is actually pretty horny. Despite losing the rights to her earlier music, Taylor refused to lay down and take it from “The Man.” She showed that she was self-aware, poking fun at herself in her music videos
She began keeping her relationships (romantic and otherwise) closer to the chest, only posting on social media when communicating directly with her fans about album releases. She’s reconciled with many of her former ops including Joe Jonas, who attended her 2021 SNL performance after-party with his wife Sophie Turner and even changed the lyrics to one of the Jonas Brothers’ songs about Taylor. She’s also made up with Katy Perry, who appeared in her “You Need to Calm Down” music video.
At 32-years-old, she’s just released her tenth studio album as she works on re-recording her sold masters in tandem, and this week made history by occupying the entire Billboard Top 10. Her first tour in five years begins in March 2023.
The Takeaway
On her most recent album Midnights is a song called “Karma,” in which she sings, “Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here.” While Taylor may attribute her success to good karma and “keeping her side of the street clean,” she should be given more credit for the poise and resilience she’s shown as she’s grown up before our eyes and has been trifiled with by some of the most powerful people in the country.
It’s time we give Taylor Swift the respect she deserves, not only as the most successful singer-songwriter of our generation, but as a bad ass woman who doesn’t take shit from anyone. We could all use more of that attitude.
Fuck you, Kanye.
