Don't Make Me Pay Attention to Joe Alwyn
The Catch-Up
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In the run-up to the first anniversary of the PopBase tweet heard ‘round the world, a not-insignificant amount of swifties were busy working themselves into a frenzy over Joe Alwyn. Rumors were rampant that the actor had cheated on Taylor Swift.
The whirlwind culminated in a bunch of swifties bullying Joe’s Conversations With Friends co-star Alison Oliver until she turned off Instagram comments.
It’s likely that the accounts in that screenshot, and the many accounts like them, belong to teenagers who haven’t yet learned to temper the parasocial toxicity of their first impulses. They may look back a few years from now and cringe at how they once treated people online.
For now, though, this tendency of parts of the fandom to attack people they perceive as having wronged Taylor is all of our problem. How can we call out the misogyny that still permeates so much of the conversation around Taylor if people with Taylor avatars are perpetuating misogyny in her name?
We can continue to call out that behavior when we see it and do a better job of refusing to engage with people who post it, but I think to get at the heart of the problem we’ll have to do a better job of embracing new swifties, building community with them, and educating them about the history of the fandom so they feel more invested in it (and be less likely to engage in the worst parts of stan culture).
The best we might be able to do as Tortured Poets comes out is to gently redirect people to focus on Taylor’s art and block people who insist on reducing her work to a conversation about muses. It’s not going to solve everything, but it’s a start. And because we have more interesting things to pay attention to than Taylor’s exes, keep reading for more of the latest:
Taylor’s heartbreak playlists
The Great Tortured Poets Promo Debate
New TTPD lyrics + the eclipse
Taybillionaire
The Swiftiest Cities
When Clowning Pays Off
If you’re on swiftie Twitter or TikTok, you know that an early TTPD theory was that the variants would each represent one of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Of course, there are only four variants, but that didn’t stop Taylor from jumping on the bandwagon this week with Apple Music playlists inspired by each stage of grief.
The playlist introductions confirm that Taylor was inspired by the theory:
And when Swifties agree upon a theory, Taylor takes an interest—so, naturally, she’s responded by crafting a series of exclusive playlists, choosing songs of her own that fit each stage.
Some swifties were upset to see Lover on the “denial” playlist, while others were excited for the chance to explore Taylor’s work through a new lens. The playlists also seemed to lead to a mass realization that folkmore aren’t emotionally fictional, which … where have you all been??
Check out each playlist below.
Taylor Swift Details How She Sees the 5 Stages of Heartbreak—and Shares Playlists for Each | Elle
The Great Tortured Poets Promo Debate
Swifties who were hoping for a Midnights-style promo schedule for TTPD will be disappointed if things don’t pick up next week, but it may be time to accept that promo doesn’t have to be a priority in the age of Eras. Despite the online discourse, all indicators point to an absolute smash of a debut, and you know what? Good for Taylor! We may be locked on TTPD, but she’s balancing touring, re-recording, releasing a new album, and general scheming on top of maintaining some semblance of a personal life. I can’t blame her for recognizing that swifties will do her promo for her.
Taybillionaire
Forbes officially added Taylor to their list of billionaires, and listen: I think it’s a policy failure when anyone becomes a billionaire. No one builds that level of wealth without social investment at some level, whether through labor, public infrastructure, or even public funding. Billionaires should return that investment in the form of taxation. But I’m less concerned with someone whose wealth is primarily in her music catalogue than I am with, say, the American billionaires who spent at least $880 million on the 2022 midterm elections, much of which went to conservative candidates and causes.
There’s no point in getting defensive when people point out the ethical issues with mega wealth — but I also don’t think there’s much point in dragging Taylor, specifically.
Taylor Swift Officially Joins Forbes’ Billionaire List As One Of 14 Celebrity Billionaires | Forbes
The Swiftiest Cities
Based on factors like Eras attendance, TikToks, Google searches, Taylor-themed events, and Facebook group members, Casino.org has named Santa Clara, CA, as the Swiftie Capital.
US Cities With The Most Swifties Per Capita | Casino.org
In Other News
SiriusXM launches Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) (SiriusXM)
The story behind Taylor’s koi fish guitar (Ultimate-Guitar.com)
Will The TTPD sell more than 10 million copies? (Bookies.com)
You can enter to win a 1989 TV fan scholarship (bold.org)
Why The Tortured Poets Department doesn’t need an apostrophe (Brisbane Times)
That’s it for The Catch-Up this week. See you on Thursday for a defense of the “Vigilante Shit” chair.