The Shady Side of Taylor Swift

2/27/2016 The shady side of Taylor Swift:

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Taylor Swift is on top of the world, but she's done some sketchy things toget there. From her confusion about feminism to her unapologeticcapitalism and questionable dating habits, let's get to know the shady sideof America's sweetheart.

THE SHADY SIDE OF TAYLOR SWIFT

SHE CAPITALIZES ON HER RELATIONSHIPSThough she insists in interviews that she doesn't like to talk about herpersonal life, Swift capitalizes on the speculation from it. Singer Joe Jonasinspired Swift's "Forever and Always," "Better Than Revenge," and "You'reNot Sorry" after he broke up with her in an infamous 27‐second‐long phonecall. Jake Gyllenhaal was the man behind most of Red, including "We AreNever Ever Getting Back Together." Harry Styles is rumored to be behind "IKnew You Were Trouble" and most of 1989, especially "Style" and "Out ofthe Woods." Though Swift never officially confirms or denies anyone'ssuspicions, she leaves hints in her liner notes for fans to piece together, andthose hints are usually obvious.

Interestingly, when John Mayer called her out for "Dear John," she had thenerve to tell Glamour that he was being "presumptuous" about the song'sobvious inspiration. Seriously?

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HER BARELY LEGAL BOYFRIENDS

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People side‐eye Tyga and Kylie Jenner constantly, but Swift has beenrobbing the cradle for a while. In 2012, she dated then‐18‐year‐old ConorKennedy when she was 22. Afterward, she dated 18‐year‐old Harry Styleswhen she was 23. How isn't that creepy?

HER FAUX SURPRISE AND SORE LOSINGDespite winning almost everything all the time, Swift puts on a shocked facewhenever she wins an award. The only time she seems genuinely shocked iswhen she loses to someone else: just look at the sneer she threw at Adeleduring the 2013 Golden Globes, or when Daft Punk beat her for Album ofthe Year at the 2014 Grammys.

"When they announced the Album of the Year winner it was like, 'And thealbum of the year goes to … Reeeeeandom Access Memories, Daft Punk!'And they really dragged out the 'reeee," Swift, who'd been nominatedforRed, griped to Grammy Pro. "…I kind of thought we had it, and wedidn't…I remember not going to afterparties. I went home and I cried a littlebit, and I got In‐N‐Out Burger and ate a lot."

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HER MISUNDERSTANDING OF FEMINISMSwift demonstrated her blatant misinterpretation of feminism in a 2012interview with The Daily Beast, in which she claimed, "I don't really thinkabout things as guys versus girls. I was… brought up to think if you work ashard as guys, you can go far in life." She's since amended her views slightly.

In Swift's world, any criticism of any woman—especially her—is anti‐feminist.When Tina Fey and Amy Poehler wisecracked about her dating life at theGolden Globes in 2013, Swift quoted Katie Couric (who was actually quotingMadeleine Albright) in Vanity Fair, telling the mag, "There's a special place

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in Hell for women who don't support other women."

When Nicki Minaj called out the MTV Video Music Awards for snubbing"Anaconda" in 2015, Swift took it as Minaj "pitting women against otherwomen." The irony, of course, was that Swift's own Moon Man‐winningvideo, "Bad Blood," was for a song penned about her hatred for anotherwoman: Katy Perry.

FOR A FEMINIST, SHE DOES A LOT OFHYPOCRITICAL SLUT‐SHAMINGIn Swift's song "Better Than Revenge," the singer attacks a woman who shethinks stole her boyfriend—allegedly, the song is about actress Camilla Belle"stealing" Joe Jonas. She sings, "She's not a saint and she's not what youthink / She's an actress / She's better known for the things that she does /On the mattress." However, Swift herself has no issues "stealing" guys whenit's convenient. In her video for "You Belong With Me," she lures the footballstar away from his brunette girlfriend. OK magazine reports that Swiftbegan dating beau Calvin Harris while he was still attached to his ex, modelAarika Wolf.

SHE HOLDS GRUDGES FOR WAY TOO LONGRemember when Kanye West interrupted Swift at the 2009 VMAs? She

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certainly does. Swift wrote a song about it called "Innocent" and delivered amelodramatic performance at the 2010 VMA show. She keeps a photo of theincident in at least one of her homes, per Us Weekly. Though she and Yeezysince mended fences at the 2015 Grammys, it took her long enough to getover it.

SHE DOESN'T ALWAYS BELIEVE IN ARTISTS'RIGHTSSwift was considered a champion for underdog and unpaid artists when shecame out against Apple Music for not paying artists for streams. Thatattitude is what made a recent conflict with a visual artist particularlyshocking.

In 2014, Swift Instagrammed a fan‐made fox illustration alongside the lyric,"They are the hunters / We are the foxes" from her 1989 track "I KnowPlaces." Artist Ally Burguieres created the original fox image that the fancopied and sells it online for $45. When she saw that her work had beencopied and publicly posted, she asked for it to be taken down.

Burguieres told Rolling Stone that Swift's team agreed to pay her "fourfigures" for the alleged copyright violation, but that the money had to bedonated to a charity…implying that Swift would get the tax deduction andBurguieres would be left with nothing to show for her work. Swift's campclaimed that Burguieres was just seeking publicity, but since her work wasnever actually credited, how much publicity was she actually getting for hercareer and online shop?

SHE'S ALMOST TOO CHARITABLE



Swift loves donating to charity and doing good deeds, especially when thepress is around. Somehow, cameras—not just from bystanders, but alsoprofessional photo agencies—manage to catch Swift doing some really sweetthings, like visiting hospitals. All of that is great, but the frequency andpublic nature of Swift's kindness is what makes it slightly questionable: shedonated $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012, and her"Swiftmas" videos documented her generosity in the most self‐congratulatoryway possible. It's great to be charitable, but it's tacky to make a spectacleout of it.

HER FRIENDSHIPS SEEM TERRIFYINGOK magazine reports that Swift's beloved #squad isn't all it's cracked up tobe. An insider told the tab, "There are to be no secrets, ever, andbackstabbing's a major no‐no." The source added that any social mediapostings even mentioning Swift have to be pre‐approved by the singerherself. It makes one wonder if she has any control over interviews herfamous friends do as well, because it seems like all Gigi Hadid, MarthaHunt, and the rest of the clique do is gush about just how wonderful Swiftis. It's also worth mentioning that it was only after Swift got criticized forhaving a #squad of nearly all white women that she added Zendaya andSerayah to her group.

Of course, being Swift's friend also brings with it the risk of her writing asong about you. She claimed "Bad Blood," widely believed to be about KatyPerry, was about an alleged friendship gone awry. Swift also mentions herchildhood BFF in her popular song "Fifteen," and it has to be a littleembarrassing—because the song mentions Abigail by name, giving"everything she had" (read between the lines) to "a boy that changed hismind." Ouch.

The Shady Side of Taylor Swift

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