Taylor Swift is at a critical junction!
In case you hadn’t heard, Paste Magazine published a SCATHING review of the pop star’s new double album, The Tortured Poets Department, over the weekend. Some of the pop star’s fans are so scarily devoted, Paste even felt the need to remove the writer’s name to avoid any threats of “violence”! Ouch!
But Tay clearly wants everyone to remember not to dwell on the negative. Just days later, the 34-year-old musician took to social media to highlight several positive reviews.
On Sunday, the Anti-Hero artist gave a special shout-out on both her X (Twitter) account and Instagram Story to a handful of publications that gave her new music high marks. Rather than pay any mind to the bad reviews, she wanted everyone to know who was saying sweet things about her and her new album! The carrot, see, not the stick!
Related: Taylor & Travis Smooch In Fortnight-Themed Challenge Video!
First off was Rolling Stone‘s review, titled “Come for the Torture, Stay for the Poetry.” They called her work an “instant classic” — and TayTay was obviously pleased since she used her own lyrics to gush about the piece, saying from the title track:
“And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding”
????And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding ????
✍️: @robsheff / @RollingStone https://t.co/iwNXYl46Kw
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 22, 2024
Aw!
Travis Kelce‘s girlfriend also shared the Times‘ five-star review with lyrics from The Alchemy, writing:
“These chemicals hit me like whiiiiite wiiiiine.”
????These chemicals hit me like whiiiiite wiiiiine ????
✍️: @dancairns123 / @thetimes https://t.co/QtTUDxLvtV
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 22, 2024
And after the Independent‘s critic called her album “irresistible,” the Grammy winner responded with lyrics from the title track:
“Everyone we know understands why it’s meant to be”
????everyone we know understands why it’s meant to be ????
✍️: @Helen_R_Brown / @Independent https://t.co/3nQCoymZFa
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 22, 2024
Lastly, to i newspaper‘s five-star take, she added:
“I feel like laughing in the middle of practice”
????I feel like laughing in the middle of practice ????
✍️: Ed Power / @theipaper https://t.co/NHJcmGFYx4
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 22, 2024
And notice how on each post, she made sure to give credit to the writer by tagging them or listing their full name?! Feels to us like she wants to direct her fans to a more magnanimous view of the music press after Paste‘s decision!
As mentioned, the magazine made waves when publishing a super harsh reaction to TTPD on Friday — notably without crediting a writer! They did this because, they explained, a 2019 review of Lover caused a critic to be “sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work.” Obviously, no one should ever be placed in danger just because they didn’t like an album — and we doubt Taylor would ever encourage her Swifties to attack a critic who didn’t see her vision. But, still, it’s noteworthy that she took the time to give each positive reviewer a personal shout-out shortly after this dramatic move!
On the one hand, this is all very positive — on the other, isn’t this kind of just the other side of the same coin? Positive reinforcement for good reviewers? It’s still an uncomfortable feedback loop in an environment that should be totally objective.
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Is Tay encouraging her fans to praise good reviewers? Is that just one step away from implying they should go after bad ones? Would it be better to just ignore the reviews completely? Sound OFF with your takes on the controversy (below)!
[Image via Taylor Swift/YouTube & MEGA/WENN]