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Home / Entertainment

Taylor Swift’s team slams New York Times queer claims as ‘sexist’, ‘grossly inappropriate’

NZ Herald
7 Jan, 2024 10:17 PM3 mins to read

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Taylor Swift's team has slammed a recent New York Times article. Photo / AP

Taylor Swift's team has slammed a recent New York Times article. Photo / AP

A recent article has reportedly left Taylor Swift’s team upset after it made speculative claims about her sexuality.

The New York Times published a lengthy op-ed last week in which they claimed the pop star has been subtly hinting to fans throughout her career that she is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The author of the article, Anna Marks, wrote that Swift has “dropped hairpins” - a slang meaning someone subtly shares that they are queer - in songs and music videos during her career, including the You Need To Calm Down music video where she seemingly dyed her hair the colours of the bisexual flag.

“Those dropped hairpins began to appear in Ms Swift’s artistry long before queer identity was undeniably marketable to mainstream America. They suggest to queer people that she is one of us,” Marks wrote.

Marks also noted that Swift released a video on Lesbian Visibility Day which was accompanied by a video of the star dancing at a Pride parade, regularly wears rainbow colour dresses and “depicts herself as trapped in glass closets or, well, in regular closets”.

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Taylor Swift's team has slammed a recent article in which a writer claimed she was part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Photo / AP
Taylor Swift's team has slammed a recent article in which a writer claimed she was part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Photo / AP

Now, a source has spoken to CNN Business saying the Grammy winner’s team is upset by the speculation, claiming it is “inappropriate” for the publication to have made such claims.

“There seems to be no boundary some journalists won’t cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive, untrue, and inappropriate it is - all under the protective veil of an ‘opinion piece’.”

Taylor Swift said she is often seen with female friends in an effort to stop the public from asking questions about her romantic life. Photo / Instagram
Taylor Swift said she is often seen with female friends in an effort to stop the public from asking questions about her romantic life. Photo / Instagram

The insider continued: “Because of her massive success, in this moment there is a Taylor-shaped hole in people’s ethics,” and insisted the op-ed would not “have been allowed to be written” about male artists like Shawn Mendes, despite fans questioning their sexuality.

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Swift has often shown her support as an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, however she has always slammed fan speculation of her sexuality, including in the re-release of her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) last year.

She told fans in a prologue for the album that she is frequently seen with female friends in an effort to stop the public from asking questions about her romantic life.

Swift said she “swore off hanging out with guys” and “decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth and my female friendships”.

“If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalise or sexualise that - right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.”

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were first linked in September last year. Photo / Getty Images
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were first linked in September last year. Photo / Getty Images

She also told Vogue in 2019: “Rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male. I didn’t realise until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of.”

The Blank Space singer is now publicly dating Kansas City Chiefs NFL player Travis Kelce, with an insider telling the Daily Mail Swift and her family - dad and mum Scott, 71, and Andrea, 65, and her brother Austin, 31 - spent Christmas at Kelce’s Kansas City mansion.

“Seeing their families together on such a special holiday was the best gift ever for Taylor,” the source told the outlet.

Swift was first linked to the sportsman in September last year, however she revealed to Time magazine they had been getting to know each other prior to her being spotted at one of his football games.

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