Trent Reznor: Taylor Swift doesnt talk politics because shes concerned about her brand

Now that some time has passed, I do think that Taylor Swift’s lack of political stance on Donald Trump is certainly better than Kanye West’s signed MAGA hat. Tay-Tay got a lot of crap for A) staying utterly silent on vital political issues during the 2016 election and B) staying utterly silent while Trump-supporting white supremacists openly declared her to be their perfect Aryan princess. Not only did she stay silent on those issues, she had her lawyer try to shut down a small-time blogger who merely made the observation that Taylor SHOULD shut down the white supremacists in her fanbase. Still, as I said, Taylor never tweeted a photo of a Trump-signed MAGA hat, so overall, it might be a wash.

But Trent Reznor still believes that Taylor can and should do more. Trent is 53 years old and still pretty punk. He’s gone on record multiple times about where he stands in the era of Trumpian white supremacy and the Idiocracy in which we now live. In an interview with the New York Times, Reznor was asked whether the current crop of pop stars and musical artists have a responsibility to speak out on political issues. This was his answer:

“I was doing press with somebody in the mid-90s, and they made an argument that stayed with me: that I have influence, and that it’s my job to call out whatever needs to be called out, because there are people who feel the same way but need someone to articulate it. And I think about that today, because it seemed like it was a lot easier to just keep your mouth shut and let it go back then. You don’t hear a lot from the Taylor Swifts of the world, and top-tier, needle-moving cultural youth, because they are concerned about their brand, their demographic and their success and career and whatnot.

“What Donald Trump is doing is concerning and infuriating—and it’s not the conservative agenda, it’s not a question of religious preference, it’s not a question of should government be big or small. I don’t have any problem with those topics. But the disregard for decency and truth and civility is what’s really disheartening. It feels like a country that celebrates stupidity is really taking it up a notch.

[From The NYT via Esquire]

I’d just like to put two things out there right away: so many people assume that IF Taylor ever did discuss politics, that she would end up identifying herself as more progressive/liberal, when the genius of Taylor’s Blank-Slate-ness is that we really don’t know. I seriously would not be surprised if she had voted for Republican candidates many times. The second thing I’d like to point out is that some people truly are NOT political, or they were raised to believe that “talking about politics” in public is somehow tacky and undignified. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Taylor subscribes to that kind of belief too.

Now, all that being said, Trent is right too: as the situation in America becomes more dire by the day as a fascist regime completely takes over, every single person needs to stand up and be counted on both sides. If Tay thinks Trump is Making America Great Again, then we have a right to know. If Tay thinks Trump is a fascist, then we should know that too. We’ve gotten to the point where there is no middle ground, no third option, no both-sides-are-equal.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmbnBiaYJ3e9OrnKesj6eyu7rOq5atmamhvLOr0rCgn6yPmbymv82tlq2ZnKCssbvLoquim6OUr6avwK6qnpejnbK0q8KopZydoqOypavAm6aurI%2BdsrOrwauYp5xf