Taylor Swift fans criticise New York Times over column speculating about her sexuality

The New York Times has drawn fierce criticism from Taylor Swift’s fans after it published a 5,000-word opinion piece speculating about the singer’s sexual identity.

Titled “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do”, the 4 January op-ed stitches together a long list of outright and perceived references to the LGBT+ community made by Swift in her songs and during live performances over the course of her career.

The writer, Anna Marks, suggests that the Swift, 34, has been “dropping hairpins” – a slang term which means to drop clues or hints about being queer – for years.

“In isolation, a single dropped hairpin is perhaps meaningless or accidental, but considered together, they’re the unfurling of a ballerina bun after a long performance,” Marks writes.

Among other instances, the author points to the video for the lead single “ME!” from the popstar’s 2019 record Lover being released on Lesbian Visibility Day. Marks writes that the video “features Ms Swift dancing at a pride parade, dripping in rainbow paint and turning down a man’s marriage proposal in exchange for a… pussy cat”.

Marks wonders whether the “Lover Era”, the section of her career linked to the release of this album, was the singer’s “attempt to douse her work – and herself – in rainbows, as so many baby queers feel compelled to do as they come out to the world”.

The author also suggests that Swift’s celebrity “would surely dim” were the multiple Grammy-winning popstar to stray from the “compulsory heterosexuality” invoked in her songs about falling in and out of love with men.

The writer, Anna Marks, suggests that the Swift, 34, has been “dropping hairpins” – a slang term which means to drop clues or hints about being queer – for years (AP)

On Twitter/X, fans criticised the speculative article, branding it a “complete abomination”. Over the years, Swift has clarified that she is a straight ally of the queer community, and able to “advocate for a community that I’m not a part of”.

One comment read: “There is something deeply wrong with The New York Times publishing this article speculating that Taylor Swift may be secretly queer – based on absolutely nothing.”

Another fan described the op-ed as a “bad faith long-form essay insinuating that Taylor Swift is a closeted queer” that should not have been published.

American country music star and LGBT+ activist Chely Wright, who was mentioned by name in the NYT piece, said it was “triggering for me to read” – not because Marks refers to a troubled period in her life before coming out as gay – but because “seeing a public person’s sexuality being discussed is upsetting”.

The Independent has contacted the New York Times and Swift’s representatives for comment.

CNN also reported that a number of Swift’s associates are upset about the “invasive, untrue, and inappropriate piece”, with a source close to the situation suggesting it was published because there’s currently “Taylor-shaped hole in people’s ethics”.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they reportedly said: “Because of her massive success, in this moment there is a Taylor-shaped hole in people’s ethics. This article wouldn’t have been allowed to be written about Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans.”

The singer, who is currently dating NFL player Travis Kelce, has been linked to a number of high-profile men, including actors Joe Alwyn, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Hiddleston, as well as British pop singers Harry Styles and The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, over the years.

Swift and Kelce began dating last year (Getty Images)

During a 2019 interview with Vogue, Swift spoke about her decision to publicly champion LGBT+ rights. She told the magazine: “Rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male. I didn’t realise until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of.”

However, a subgroup of Swift’s fans, known casually as “gaylors”, have speculated that Swift is not straight. Swift herself alluded to these fan theories in a prologue accompanying the re-recorded version of her 2014 album 1989.

In her introduction, released last year, Swift reflected on her decision to reinvent herself “musically, geographically, aesthetically, behaviorally, motivationally” when she was 24.

The “Love Story” singer said she had been shamed publicly for “dating like a normal young woman” and targeted as a “boy-crazy psychopath”, explaining her desire to “silence” these voices.

“It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with,” she wrote. “If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him.

“And so, I swore off hanging out with guys. Dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponised against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian era.”

Swift hoped that changing her behaviour would “fix” the narrative, but a new one emerged in its place. “I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships,” she wrote. “If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalise or sexualise that, right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.”