Taylor Swift Is Getting An Award For Being An LGBTQ+ Ally — But Should She?

Superstar Taylor Swift could not have received on the 2020 Golden Globe Awards. But she didn’t have to attend till the Grammys to search out out she’s getting one other main prize: A GLAAD Media Award. Despite her recognition, not everyone seems to be in settlement that Swift ought to take house this specific award. Read on to study extra.

Taylor Swift has been criticized for not being political

When you’re within the public eye, you face quite a lot of criticism for — nicely, nearly every thing. Over the years, Swift has usually saved her political views to herself. However, if you happen to have been actually paying consideration, you might need observed that she’s attended the GLAAD Media Awards earlier than: She introduced her friend, actor Ruby Rose, with an award in 2016.

Swift has develop into extra outwardly political with Lover, her seventh album. Her track, “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” is definitely about “the illusions of what [she] thought America was before our political landscape took this turn, and that naivete that we used to have about it.”

The single ‘You Need to Calm Down’ made her views clear

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But earlier than “Miss Americana,” Swift was talking up about a problem that’s develop into way more bipartisan in recent times. We’re talking of LGBTQ+ rights. Her second single off of Lover was “You Need to Calm Down,” which she timed for a launch with Pride Month in 2019.

The monitor has a powerful message about supporting others, particularly in relation to on-line trolls and protesters who converse out towards the neighborhood at massive. Swift had plenty of LGBTQ+ entertainers, together with Ellen DeGeneres, RuPaul, and Hayley Kiyoko, within the video.

Swift additionally put her phrases into motion

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HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! While we now have a lot to rejoice, we even have an incredible distance to go earlier than everybody on this nation is actually handled equally. In glorious current information, the House has handed the Equality Act, which might shield LGBTQ folks from discrimination of their locations of labor, properties, faculties, and different public lodging. The subsequent step is that the invoice will go earlier than the Senate. I’ve determined to kick off Pride Month by writing a letter to one among my senators to clarify how strongly I really feel that the Equality Act ought to be handed. I urge you to jot down to your senators too. I’ll be on the lookout for your letters by looking out the hashtag #lettertomysenator. While there’s no info but as to when the Equality Act will go earlier than the Senate for a vote, we do know this: Politicians want votes to remain in workplace. Votes come from the folks. Pressure from huge quantities of individuals is a serious option to push politicians in the direction of constructive change. That’s why I’ve created a petition at change.org to induce the Senate to assist the Equality Act. Our nation’s lack of safety for its personal residents ensures that LGBTQ folks should reside in worry that their lives could possibly be turned the wrong way up by an employer or landlord who’s homophobic or transphobic. The indisputable fact that, legally, some persons are utterly on the mercy of the hatred and bigotry of others is disgusting and unacceptable. Let’s present our satisfaction by demanding that, on a nationwide stage, our legal guidelines really deal with all of our residents equally. Click the hyperlink in my bio to signal the petition for Senate assist of the Equality Act.

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 31, 2019 at 9:05pm PDT

Prior to the discharge of the track, Swift ramped up her allyship much more, with true motion. She wrote a letter to Senator Lamar Alexander, of her house state of Tennessee. In it, she requested that he assist the Equality Act, which might work to guard towards discrimination primarily based on sexual orientation and gender.

In addition to this, Swift created a Change.org place for a similar trigger. While the invoice had beforehand handed within the House of Representatives, it was then handed to the Senate, the place it has sat for a number of months now. Under Donald Trump‘s Republican-controlled Senate, it’s more likely to keep that means.

Now, she’s being honored on the GLAAD Media Awards

Now, Swift is being honored for her actions. She’s receiving the Vanguard Award, which is particularly for allies who’ve made “a significant difference” for these within the LBGTQ+ neighborhood.

“From boldly standing up against anti-LGBTQ elected officials to shining attention on the urgent need to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination through the Equality Act, Taylor Swift proudly uses her unique ability to influence pop culture to promote LGBTQ acceptance,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis informed People. “In a time of political and cultural division, Taylor creates music that unites and calls on her massive fan following to speak up and call for change.”

The announcement is receiving blended reactions

Taylor appears an odd selection. I really like her however she’s been an ally for about 15 minutes.

— christopher dallman (@chrisdallman) January 7, 2020

Not everyone seems to be on board with Swift receiving this award. Musician Christopher Dallman wrote on Twitter that she was “an odd choice,” noting that her activism within the house is pretty new. Writer Evan Ross Katz took it a step additional, saying that the issue is the award itself. “Allies are great, important, and necessary. They should not be given awards,” Katz wrote on Twitter.

Regardless of this, followers of Swift’s are fairly excited to see her being honored for her contributions within the house. With any luck, this received’t be the final time that she makes use of her fame to assist others.