Opinion
The liberal singer Taylor Swift has found herself in hot water this week as calls are growing for her to be boycotted over issues with her “terrible” merchandise.
Swift’s Merchandise Problem
“Taylor Swift has a merch problem,” reads a report by Axios that adds that a viral post on social media states that fans “need to boycott” Swift’s merchandise to “start getting decent quality at a decent price.”
“Why is Taylor Swift’s merch store and merchandise so awful?” one person stated on the SwiftlyNeutral subreddit back in December. “From the lack of customer service, shipping delays, bots, disregarded refund requests, to the overall quality of merch. Why do they charge so much for items of such low quality and poor customer service?”
According to one study, Swift had the most sought-after merchandise of any of Billboard’s Top 100 artists of 2023. Last year, she earned $200 million from merchandise sales alone over the 60 shows she performed as part of “The Eras Tour.”
Unfortunately for Swift, fans have reported massive shipping delays with her merchandise as well. One TikTok video went so far as to say that Swift’s merchandise team had been “ruining Christmas surprises two years in a row.”
Related: CBS Slammed For Constantly Showing Taylor Swift During Super Bowl – ‘Way Over The Top’
Swift May Sway Presidential Election
This is a rare chink in the armor for Swift, who is more popular than ever these days. In fact, she’s so popular that she may have major sway on this year’s presidential election. Last month, a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek found that eighteen percent of voters stated that they are “more likely” or “significantly more likely” to vote for whichever candidate that Swift is supporting.
Meanwhile, seventeen percent said that they would be less likely to vote for a candidate backed by Swift, and 55 percent said that they would not be swayed either way by the “Anti-Hero” singer. A total of 45 percent of the people that responded to the poll said that they were Swift fans, while 54 percent said that they were not.
“She’s influenced popular culture, sports, the economics of entire regions of the U.S.,” said communications consultant James Haggerty. “So why not politics and elections?”
“Swift is in the class by herself,” added media consultant Brad Adgate. “She’s so talented and so popular and so ingrained in pop culture. No one is close to her.”
Related: Trump Claims There’s ‘No Way’ Taylor Swift Could Endorse Biden – ‘Worst And Most Corrupt President’
Swift Bashes Donald Trump
This could spell bad news for Donald Trump, as Swift has been open about being against the former president politically. Back in 2020, Swift accused Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” in response to comments he made condemning the violence that spread throughout the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
“After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?” she wrote on social media at the time, according to Daily Mail. “When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump.”
In her Netflix documentary “Miss Americana,” Swift talked about how much she regrets not openly opposing Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
“I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now,” Trump said in response.
At the time of this writing, Swift has yet to endorse a presidential candidate this year. Before she enters the world of politics again, she might want to get her merchandise in order. If she doesn’t, Swift may indeed soon find herself being boycotted and targeted by cancel culture, which would rob her of the cultural power that she appears to crave!
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