ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA: The right-wing columnist Mark Hemingway is successful in assembling a new army of Swifties following his unprecedented attack on the 12-times Grammy-winning singer Taylor Swift, who just enjoyed an eye-popping NFL Sunday on September 24, with her rumored new flame Travis Kelce.
Mark Hemingway, who is a conservative writer and book editor for The Federalist, wrote an essay where he equated Swift’s music as signs of societal degeneration while accusing the ‘Lover’ singer of promoting individualism.
What did Mark Hemingway write about Taylor Swift?
Alleging Swift’s music for promoting a culture of self-obsession, Hemingway wrote, “Given her popularity in the face of this lyrical obsession, it’s a chicken-or-egg-first proposition about whether the cultural avatar of millennial females is famous for being near constantly romantically aggrieved.”
He also alleged that Swift is encouraging women to be “29 and unmarried and childless.”
Hemingway said, “Even as TikTok is full of videos of women insisting, 'No really, it’s great being 29 and unmarried and childless, I don’t want that at all, I get to sleep in on weekends and learn to make shakshuka, this is the most fulfilling life I can conceive of, I’M HAPPY WHY WON’T ANYONE BELIEVE ME?!'"
The author alleged the ‘Anti-Hero’ singer to be promoting “self-obsession” and “individualism” rather than commenting on societal issues.
He wrote, “Her music sucks: It’s utterly defined by self-obsession rather than introspection. Where other artists will occasionally do a Christmas album, it seems like every Taylor Swift album is a Festivus record devoted to the airing of grievances and feats of artistic strength.”
The columnist insinuated that Swift mostly targets her former lovers to get the lyrics for her songs. He specifically attacked Swift’s song ‘Dear John’ for John Mayer which she composed in 2010 after her infamous break up.
He continued, “There’s yet another song on her latest record bashing one of her famous exes, John Mayer, following up on her infamous breakup song Dear John in 2010."
He then added, "Look, everyone knows Mayer was a terrible womanizer — but this was known before he dated her — and that was 14 YEARS AGO.”
He also attacked the singer for egging the past relationships to create music and and portray images of shallow heartbreaks.
“It’s, as the kids say, pretty cringe to still be exploiting these past relationships, which considering Swift’s had a charmed life since she was a teenager, seem like pretty hollow examples of genuine heartbreak,” added Hemmingway.
Despite his sharp criticism, he admitted that the ‘Lavender Haze’ singer's songs can be relatable in real life. But he calls for a limit to the exploitation of the same tropes.
He wrote, “It’s true that young men are frequently terrible to young women and there’s nothing inherently wrong with this being fodder for pop songs, but there are limits.”
He continued in his diatribe while commenting, “Music has the power to connect people through shared experience, and people desperately want that connection in this polarizing age. In the case of Swift, however, that connection has to be interpreted, like everything else these days, through a political lens.”
He repeated in the essay, “To be clear, I’m not so hostile or out of touch that I don’t get important aspects of her appeal. I think she’s worth paying attention to because something about Swift resonates at the frequency of America.”
However, his issue with Swift is with the theme and quality of her songs which he finds is not extraordinary. He added, “But I’m genuinely not sure her popularity is a testament to her talent.”
At the end, though, he concluded by accepting Swift’s appeal and said, “I concede she’s so good at the exact thing she does that she’s hard to resist in certain contexts. If the occasional three-minute bursts of Swift make you feel good, I won’t deny you that.”
Taylor Swift urged her fans to register to vote
Swift, who has become a global phenomenon through her 'Eras Tour', recently urged her fans through her Instagram story to register to vote.
The 'Cruel Summer' singer, who boasts 272 million followers on Instagram, wrote in her text-only post, “I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently,” before adding, “I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!”
She continued, “Register to vote in less than 2 minutes at vote.org/nvrd,” per Billboard.
'The fact that you equate society with Taylor Swift itself shows her impact'
One fan backed the 'Miss Americana' singer and indirectly slammed Hemingway by saying, "Seeing Taylor Swift in the #ErasTour with my young daughters in a sold-out MetLife Stadium didn't quite make me a Swiftie. But this did. Great job @FDRLST!"
Someone else castigated the author and said, "Thanks for continuing to show how out of touch you are with Americans."
"Imagine getting upset about an artist being successful. This is next level, guys. Well done," said someone else.
Another fan prophesied, "Way to go Mr. Hemingway, picking a fight with #Swifties #TaylorSwift."
Another remarked, "Sigh. This is exactly what we say about ALL generational pop stars. What about Madonna in the 80s? People everywhere freaking out about her racy lyrics and inside-out underwear wear wardrobe! Gen-X's Swift she was. And the world was always about to crater in on itself when she blew in city after city during her concert tours. Please. Swift is just today's Madonna."
"Either a desperate attempt at clickbait or a tone deaf diatribe that ignores decades of less worthy artists who ruled the charts. Sorry to have read it and click on it," said another Swiftie who is displeased with the essay.
Someone else proudly declared themself as a Swiftie by saying, "The fact that you equate society with Taylor Swift itself shows her impact. May you keep flying high TS! Let them burn in jealousy #Swiftie."
Someone else simplified, "Translation: "She getting young people registered to vote! She must be stopped!""
