Pop icon Taylor Swift has officially shaken off her previous apolitical persona by becoming an “ally” to the cause. After endorsing a Democrat in the Tennessee senatorial race this past midterm election, which ultimately proved fruitless, Swift has now donated $113K to an LGBTQ advocacy group.
According to Page Six, Swift donated the hefty sum of cash to the Tennessee Equality Project, which reportedly has been fighting a “handful of contentious bills moving inside the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly.”
Tennessee Equality Project Executive Director Chris Sanders praised Swift in a Facebook post for her charitable contribution, calling her a “long-time ally” of the LGBTQ community. “Taylor Swift has been a long-time ally to the LGBTQ community,” Sanders wrote, according to NBC News. “She sees our struggle in Tennessee and continues to add her voice with so many good people, including religious leaders, who are speaking out for love in the face of fear.”
Sanders included an image of a handwritten letter sent to him by Swift in his post praising the singer on Monday evening.
“I’m so inspired by the work you do, specifically in organizing the recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders standing up against the ‘slate of hate’ in our state legislature,” wrote the Tennessee native Swift. “I’m so grateful that they’re giving all people a place to worship.”
These alleged “slate of hate” bills will allow religious adoption agencies to prefer children go to married heterosexual couples over same-sex couples. They would also make changes to the state’s indecent exposure laws.
“Companion bills HB 1151 and SB 1297 expand the state’s indecent exposure law to apply ‘in a restroom, locker room, dressing room, or shower, any of which are designated for single-sex, multi-person use, and the person is a member of the opposite sex than the sex designated for use,'” reports NBC News. “Advocates say that since transgender Tennesseans cannot legally change their sex on legal documents, this bill unfairly targets them for criminal prosecution.”
Taylor Swift has managed to stay largely apolitical throughout her career, but that all changed when feminists began to publicly chastise her for not endorsing Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.
“If Taylor thinks that her public fallout with Kimye was the most damning public relations nightmare she endured last year, then she should probably expand her news diet,” wrote Marie Claire magazine. “Fall of 2016 saw a slew of celebrities become outspokenly involved in the political process, as they should have…Whether she likes it or not, Taylor’s politics (or her perceived political apathy) are a part of her reputation, and a song addressing or at least acknowledging that (even if the song did not address her personal politics) would have been welcome.”
In the fall of 2018, Swift took the criticism to heart by opposing Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) during the midterm elections, choosing to endorse her male opponent.
“I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country,” Swift said at the time. “I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.”