“WITH great power comes great responsibility”.
That can certainly be said of pop phenomenon Taylor Swift with her army of dedicated fans known as Swifites clinging on to her every lyric and intensely following her every social media proclamation.
She is a master of her own destiny and a superstar with the power to mobilise millions of followers. Currently, on her incredibly successful Eras world tour, which skipped Malaysia by the way, fans have been reaching out to their idol to speak out on the atrocities being committed in Palestine in the on-going Israel-Hamas conflict.
Though the 34-year-old had previously spoken out on issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community as well as on abortion rights, many of her fans worldwide has becoming increasingly frustrated that the star has kept silent on the atrocities being carried out in the West Bank.
This sentiment was seized upon netizen Malissa (@malissaali) who decried that Swift was “just an entertainer” devoid of real substance. She was responding to a tweet by a Swifty on the Pennsylvania-born artiste’s deafening silence on the Palestine issue.
She was and she is never a good role model to anybody. She’s just a singer, a performer. She’s empty. No heart and no soul to relate to others’ suffering. Her greatest sadness is just from men she loved. Taylor Swift is just an entertainment. https://t.co/ut9qXsZdsU
— Malissa (@malissaali) May 29, 2024
Malissa went on to say that the American singer was just an empty vessel whose primary source of inspiration appears to be her many heartbreaks with her romantic partners.
Her post on X remarkably generated 1.3 million views at the time of writing with plenty of comments. Here is a sample.
Many agreed with the poster’s sentiments with some upset over Swift’s silence while many others seem to agree that she is just an “entertainer”.
Some fans are upset enough at the singer’s silence that they have distanced themselves with one pointing to other artistes who have spoken up.
Using a meme to illustrate the point, one netizen suggested that Swift’s silence on the genocide was equivalent of being a neo-Nazi.
Given that Swift is a global phenomenon with diehard fans lurking in every corner, it was no great surprise that there are detractors everywhere.
A few defended Swift pointing to the many CSR initiatives undertaken by the singer as well as the positive economic impact the Eras tour is having on many cities (Malaysians wouldn’t know as she didn’t see fit to add Kuala Lumpur to the itinerary).
That netizen quite succinctly argued that Swift was under no obligation to be a mouthpiece or platform for anyone else.
One netizen did sum up the situation quite succinctly by pointing out that the poster is villainising Swift instead of doing something more constructive in relation to the conflict. Isn’t this in itself vacuous?
One netizen seemed tickled by the sheer volume of responses, underlining the impact that Swift has on her fans.
For sure, Swifties are entitled to make up their own minds about their idol and whether she is representative of issues that many of them hold dear.
On the one hand, many Malaysians need to understand that not everyone is comfortable “standing in solidarity with Palestine” but prefer to remain neutral or at least silent. That is called “freedom of choice”, hence the need for Malaysians to refrain from condemning others’ actions whether pro- or otherwise.
On the other hand – as highlighted by many Swifties across the globe – the singer is in a unique position to raise greater awareness, especially among her younger fans. It is sizeable and they could bring pressure to bear on various parties, not least tour sponsors linked to the Jewish state.
One netizen’s response though seems to sum up the situation pretty nicely. Despite her phenomenal fame, perhaps it is too much to expect Taylor Swift to be the solution to a complicated geo-political issue decades in the making. – May 31, 2024
Main image credit: 𝒮𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒽 (𝒯𝒶𝓎𝓁𝑜𝓇’𝓈 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃) 🇵🇸 (@giftedswifted) on X platform
