ABOVE: Taylor Swift in her music video for “You Need to Calm Down.” (Screenshot from YouTube)
Taylor Swift revealed that she was inspired to get vocal about LGBTQ activism after having a conversation with her friend, choreographer and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” judge Todrick Hall.
In an interview with Vogue, Swift says Hall made a comment to her that changed her perspective on staying quiet.
“Maybe a year or two ago, Todrick and I are in the car, and he asked me, What would you do if your son was gay? The fact that he had to ask me shocked me and made me realize that I had not made my position clear enough or loud enough. If my son was gay, he’d be gay. I don’t understand the question,” Swift says.
She added: “Rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male. I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of. It’s hard to know how to do that without being so fearful of making a mistake that you just freeze. Because my mistakes are very loud. When I make a mistake, it echoes through the canyons of the world. It’s clickbait, and it’s a part of my life story, and it’s a part of my career arc.”
Swift’s LGBTQ activism includes endorsing politicians who promote LGBTQ rights and starting a Change.org petition in support of the Equality Act. The singer also released the pro-LGBTQ single “You Need to Calm Down,” which featured Hall.
