Opinion
Liberal singer Taylor Swift has found herself in trouble this week as calls grow to boycott her over problems with her “terrible” merchandise.
Swift’s merchandise problem
“Taylor Swift has a merchandise problem,” reads a report from Axios which adds that a viral social media post claims fans “need to boycott” Swift merchandise to “start getting decent quality at a price decent”.
“Why is Taylor Swift’s merch store and merchandise so awful?” said one person on the SwiftlyNeutral subreddit in December. “From the lack of customer service, shipping delays, bots, ignored refund requests, to the overall quality of the merchandise. Why do they charge so much for such low quality items and poor customer service?”
According to one study, Swift had the most searched for merchandise among all of Billboard’s top 100 artists of 2023. Last year, she earned $200 million from merchandise sales alone over the course of the 60 shows she performed as part of “The Eras Tour”.
Unfortunately for Swift, fans have also reported huge delays in shipping her merchandise. One TikTok video went so far as to say that Swift’s merch team had “ruined Christmas surprises two years in a row.”
Related: CBS Criticized for Constantly Showing Taylor Swift During Super Bowl – ‘Very Over the Top’
Swift can influence presidential elections
This is a rare chink in the armor for Swift, who is more popular than ever these days. In fact, it’s so popular that it could have a major influence on this year’s presidential election. Last month, a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek found that 18% of voters said they were “more likely” or “significantly more likely” to vote for any candidate Swift supported.
Meanwhile, 17% said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate supported by Swift, and 55% said they would not be influenced in any way by the “Anti-Hero” singer. A total of 45% of people who responded to the survey said they were Swift fans, while 54% said they were not.
“It influenced popular culture, sports and the economy of entire regions of the United States,” said communications consultant James Haggerty. “So why not politics and elections?”
“Swift is in class by herself,” added media consultant Brad Adgate. “She IS so talented, so popular and so ingrained in pop culture. No one is close to her.”
Related: Trump says there’s ‘no way’ Taylor Swift could endorse Biden: ‘the worst, most corrupt president’
Swift attacks Donald Trump
This could spell bad news for Donald Trump, as Swift has openly stated that she is politically opposed to the former president. In 2020, Swift accused Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” in response to comments he made condemning the violence that had spread across the country following the death of George Floyd.
“After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the courage to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?” he wrote on social media at the time, according to the 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.
As 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 clear his clutter. If she doesn’t, she Swift may soon find herself boycotted and targeted by cancel culture, which would deprive her of the cultural power she seems to crave!
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