Even if you do not find yourself keeping up to date with pop music, chances are you have had Taylor Swift popping up somewhere on your feed. Whether her concerts, award wins, NFL relationship or even the 2024 presidential election, it i’s clear Swift is on everyone’s mind. However, are we too obsessed with Taylor?

Sometimes it can be frustrating how much people can try to milk her for viewership, which is not her fault. The big example is how much screen time she had this past NFL season. She's just there trying to watch her man play ball and they try to use her for attention. Seemingly, however, her rise in prominence during the NFL season has opened the floodgates for conspiracy theories.

One in five Americans believe Swift is part of a conspiracy to get Joe Biden re-elected in 2024 according to a study by the Monmouth University Polling Institute. Liken Taylor Swift to Donald Trump. See Trump Bump and raise you the Swift Lift.

Putting politics aside, the dislike for Taylor could stem from the fact she knows her ability to control an audience. You can agree with all of the basic sentiments — yes she i’s smart, yes she i’s a marketing genius, yes she i’s a conventionally good person, but also believe that she uses her ability to control to a terrible advantage.

For example, at the Grammys Lana dDel Rey was nominated for five Grammys and received not one. That is fine, but Swift won and brought Lana on stage with her — also fine — even though that i’s borderline humiliating. She acted shocked, as if millions of people are not obsessed with her, and then continued to announce her new album set for release in April “Tortured Poets Department” because she knows she can get away with just about literally anything.

Similar to an article recently published about authority and power highs, Swift, though she is not educationally affiliated, craves power. Within your career you want to strive to achieve your goals. Who would not want the same for themselves? Regardless of that, there is a difference between wanting the best for everyone and using your achievements to discredit everyone. Of course the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, and of course Swift is dating a Chiefs’ player.

The exhaustion comes from hearing her name in situations that do not need to be spoken about. People are exhausted of her being a part of school curriculums. Sure, she donates to charities. What are they doing with the money, and does she even know who it is going to? Has she ever met anybody that the money is going to? It is a ploy for, yet again, power. “Let me make myself look good so people have less of a reason to dislike me.” It is basic, utterly basic psychology.

Swift serves as a good reminder that billionaires are bad regardless of their political views. Her excessive use of private jets (flying from one side of St. Louis to the other) is one aspect of this. Ethical billionaires do not exist. Billionaires are created by exploitation. Even if her merchandise is not made in sweatshops, it is often made cheaply by people in developing countries for pennies.

Swift plays this victim narrative that is another element that many cannot stand. She acts like everyone is out to get her, but how is that possible when you a’re a billionaire and sell out stadiums all over the world? She holds grudges from things that happened years ago (Kanye) and is still talking about them to this day.

Swift absolutely crucifies anybody who makes a single joke about her dating life. She is a woman who does not support other women. And yet, she's doing the pap walks with all of her boyfriends. She i’s very visible in all of their lives (except Joe Alwyn). She writes songs about them that are very clear about them. She sics her fans on exes by making it clear when her songs are about them.

Swift’s presence in pop-culture and branching out into politics is forcing us to reflect on our fascination and, at times, exasperation with public figures. While there is no denying her remarkable talents and significant influence, we have to ask the questions regarding the extent to which she leverages that power. Amidst admiration and criticism, her prominence serves as a reminder of far bigger societal issues, from celebrity worship to wealth inequality. Ultimately, whether one views her as a symbol of empowerment or as a divisive figure, Taylor Swift is a complex figure one way or another.

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