Taylor Alert – CNN’s Chris Wallace is told to give his Swiftie bracelet back after slamming Time for awarding superstar Person of the Year

A CNN anchor caused a stir on-air after questioning why Time chose Taylor Swift for the magazine’s hallowed Person of the Year award.

Chris Wallace, 76, suggested to several female panelists on Saturday that the magazine’s selection of the 33-year-old singer-songwriter was a ‘pure marketing play.’

Before putting forward alternatives like Chinese leader Xi Jinping and ousted OpenAi CEO Robert Altman, the son of 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace conceded he was a fan and said his favorite Swift song is You Belong With Me.

He then pivoted to what he said was a secret plot on the part of the once-prominent print publication – one to improve circulation numbers down roughly 75 percent from a peak seen only a few years ago.

The assertion immediately offended two of four journalists who joined Wallace for the program, who responded by stripping the showrunner of a bracelet that had a fan-made ‘Swifty’ slogan emblazoned on its wrist, which he’d been wearing on-air.

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Chris Wallace, 76, caused the commotion Saturday on his eponymous Chris Wallace Show, where he suggested to several female panelists that Times’s selection of the 33-year-old songstress for their Person of the Year honor was a ‘marketing play’ to improve circulation 

TIME awarded Taylor Swift the honor this week, after previously doling it out to figures as farflung as Adolf Hitler and Pope Francis

The maneuver came after a brief-but-heated exchange between the three – Wallace and journalists Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Kara Swisher – where they debated Wallace’s assessment of the new award during a segment fittingly dubbed, ‘Tell Me I’m Wrong.’

‘Let me be clear from the jump,’ the veteran newscaster began, before making his case on his self-titled show. ‘I like Taylor Swift,’ he said, ‘although I prefer her earlier songs like You Belong With Me to some of her more recent stuff.’

He continued. ‘I understand she has a huge cultural and economic force – but when Time magazine this week named her its Person of the Year, I thought, oh, please.’

The declaration, first, earned an audible reaction from his cohosts, which worsened as Wallace continued with his theory.

Citing the launch of the songstress’ record-breaking Eras Tour and widely reported romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight End Travis Kelce, he asked aloud: ‘First of all, hasn’t Taylor received enough well-deserved coverage this year?’

Not satisfied, he added of the award – which has been awarded to figures as far-flung as Adolf Hitler and Pope Francis – ‘And how about some of the other finalists like Xi Jinping or Sam Altman of Open AI?’

Answering himself, he exclaimed: ‘Then Time wouldn’t have gotten the Taylor cover and it wouldn’t have gotten the interview with Taylor, who doesn’t do interviews.’

Wallace – a 50 year vet in the industry – went on to drop the bombshell he said is behind the now 100-year-old magazines recent decision.

‘To me, it sure looks like a pure marketing play, for a magazine that used to have a circulation of more than 4 million and is now down to a little more than 1 million.’

The assertion immediately offended two of four journalists who joined Wallace for the program, who responded by stripping the showrunner of a bracelet that had a fan-made ‘Swifty’ slogan emblazoned on its wrist, which he had been wearing on-air

Seemingly expecting feedback from his fellow panelists – several of whom are outspoken ‘Swifties’ – Wallace proceeded to prod them further.

‘And I am sure that some of my colleagues on this panel fell for it,’ he said, seemingly relishing the moment before issuing an apparent challenge to one of the co-hosts in particular.

‘And I know there is a chorus of you to tell me why I’m wrong: Kara, I’m going to start with you – and be gentle! I am wearing the Swifty bracelet that you gave me.’

Like clockwork, Swisher – a contributing editor at New York Magazine and a co-founder of Vox Media’s tech faction Recode – clapped back, questioning Wallace’s assessment of the recent event.

‘What is it? What is the issue?’ she asked aloud, before also answering her rhetorical herself. ‘It’s – it is all men,’

Swisher, 60, went on to elaborate: ‘I have to say, with this woman – who’s she? 

‘Five-billion [dollars] in economic benefits to the United just in the United States. Huge social phenomenon. Brought people out to concert sites and out in the public,’ the journalist rattled off.

Kara Swisher – a contributing editor at New York Magazine and a co-founder of Vox Media’s tech faction Recode who gifted Wallace the bracelet – was the first to clap back, questioning Wallace’s assessment of the award, which she said stemmed from the fact he’s a man

Lulu Garcia-Navarro agreed, spurring her to urge Wallace to give Swisher ‘[his] Swifty bracelet back’

Bringing up last year’s award – won by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos – she then pointed out Swift’s apparent business sense, as opposed to Time’s.  

‘We had Jeff Bezos’s head in a box as the Time person of the Year many years ago. He’s a big business person. Big impact. What is the issue with her?’ she asked. ‘They do this all the Time. 

‘And the last thing [it] is [is[ media trying to attract audience – you’re kidding me,’ she continued, while appearing increasingly terse.’

‘Of course they’re trying to attract audience. And she is someone lots of people really like and have consumed a lot of her content.’

Wallace went on to offer a retort – one that saw him try to steer the conversation back to Time, and not Swift.

‘In my defense, and this is not about Taylor, it’s about Time,’ the anchor insisted, before reverencing some of the language used in the Wednesday article found past the magazine’s now widely seen cover, which featured a sitdown with the singer.

He recalled: ‘Here is some of the breathless language that Time magazine used in its article with the interview that it got about Taylor Swift. 

‘“To discuss her movements felt like discussing politics or the weather,”‘ he read.

‘”A language spoken so widely it needed no context.”

‘”She became the main character of the world.”’

The veteran newscaster obliged, but not before jokingly asking whether his panelists reaction was ‘maybe a tad overheated’

TIME selected Taylor Swift as the 2023 Person of the Year. The announcement of Swift as Person of the Year for 2023, meanwhile, come on the heels of a landmark year for the artist, during which she re-released several albums as privately owned remasters for full royalties

That’s when Garcia-Navarro – a New York Times staffer who runs an opinion podcast for the paper – chimed in. 

‘I do not think it was a good article,’ the former NPR staffer at first conceded. ‘That said, I do think you need to give your Swifty bracelet back to Kara.

Swisher, jokingly, expressed agreement  – spurring Wallace to theatrically shout: ‘How dare you!’

An unmoved Garcia-Navarro responded: ‘I think – I’m so sorry – I think it’s over.’

Questioning whether the women’s reaction were ‘maybe a tad overheated’, Wallace appeared to stick to his guns.

Garcia-Navarro, however, quickly exclaimed: ‘When you criticize the magazine. But I don’t know that you should be criticizing Taylor. That’s all I’m saying.’

The announcement of Swift as Person of the Year for 2023, meanwhile, come on the heels of a landmark year for the artist, during which she re-released several albums as privately owned remasters for the sake of securing full royalties.

It also comes months after the launch of her record-breaking Eras Tour, which was credited with bolstering economic activity in the cities and even countries it has passed through. 

It follows Fox News’ Sean Hannity’s recent unlikely defense of the performer, and her high-flying romance with now confirmed romantic partner Kelce. 

Fox News ‘ Sean Hannity, meanwhile, recently launched an unlikely defense of Swift and romantic partner Travis Kelce – saying, ‘I kind of hate people, you know, hating on her’

That spiel came in reaction to the songstress’s slew of appearances at Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games – and now-rife reports that the pair are dating

Mentioning his recent 15-second commercial where cracked open a can of Bud Light after the recent scandal involving the trans TikToker that lost the beer’s parent company some $395 million in US sales.

‘I know that Travis is woke, and he’s Bud Light, and he’s for the Covid shot. I just, you know what, if you want to listen and get advice from a football player, I don’t care. Or a pop star’ Hannity said in Septmeber.

‘I don’t care where you get your advice. We live in a free country, they are entitled to their views, as much as I might disagree. 

‘But I can also recognize talent and they’re both enormously talented. How’s this? I wish them the best, I hope it works for them.’