A columnist has sparked uproar over an opinion piece she wrote describing Taylor Swift as ‘the sound of whiteness’ who gives her fans a free pass to ‘not feel guilt or shame about white privilege’.
In the extraordinary article penned for the Saturday Paper at the weekend, Zambian-born n journalist Santilla Chingaipe blasted the country’s Taylor Swift-mania after the pop star embarked on a seven date tour of Sydney and Melbourne.
Ms Chingaipe said the country’s fervor for Swift – including kids swapping friendship bracelets – wasn’t surprising, given her music apparently ‘confirms whiteness’ for a country that is ‘failing to confront its own anxieties about race, class and gender’.
She also blasted Swift for failing to sing about political matters such as the ‘climate emergency’, ‘racial injustice’ and ‘raging conflicts’, in what was presumably a reference to the Israel-Hamas war.
With almost 600,000 ns having seen, or planning to see, Swift live in concert on this tour, Ms Chingaipe’s comment piece sparked anger on social media, with one commentator scolding her that ‘it’s okay to actually enjoy stuff’.
‘This is weirdly bitter, not critical,’ another said, while a third added: ‘You have no idea how songwriting works, why people do it, how they do it, and how awful it can be to force political/social issues into writing if it isn’t in the muse.’
A columnist is facing mounting backlash for an opinion piece she wrote describing Taylor Swift as ‘the sound of whiteness’. Above, Swift performs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
In the extraordinary column, Zambian-born n journalist Santilla Chingaipe criticised the Taylor-mania which has gripped the nation
In the controversial piece, Ms Chingaipe wrote: ‘In Swift’s world, you do not have to feel guilt or shame about white privilege – you embrace it.
‘In fact, Swift makes it permissible to buy into this world and many are willing to go into debt to experience it. She is the sound of whiteness.
‘She makes music that confirms whiteness for an audience large enough to be reassured by its whiteness.
‘This might not be its intention, but it is certainly part of its attraction, especially in .
‘During her first show in Melbourne, she told the audience ‘songwriting was something that actually gets me through my life’.
‘This may be true, but why then, after more than three decades on this planet, isn’t she writing about things the rest of us women in our 30s are grappling with: the climate emergency, being repeatedly failed by our political leaders, racial injustice, the raging conflicts?’
Swift has a history of encouraging Americans to vote during elections, and endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
She also spoke about her choice to break her silence on politics during her 2020 documentary Miss Americana, after she was falsely painted as a quiet conservative.
Ms Chingaipe expressed distaste at the ‘cowboy boot and sequin’-filled streets and the friendship bracelets children are making and swapping with one another
The comment piece has prompted audiences to question whether a male celebrity would receive the same scrutiny
Her decision to speak up at the time was vehemently opposed by members of her team, who worried about her personal safety given the long history of problems she’s had with stalkers during her 18 years in the spotlight.
Ms Chingaipe, and the publishers of her column, have also been questioned about their priorities in the wake of the controversial piece.
‘You’ll hold a literal pop star to accountability before actual politicians,’ one reader noted.
‘As a subscriber, this is a terrible story that should not have made it to the paper.’
Another person noted Swift had donated $100,000 to food banks in every city she’s visited on her global tour – and has generated enormous profits along the way.
The star is yet to speak out about the 2024 presidential election – likely to be a rematch between Trump and Biden, but Swift has been the subject of a false conspiracy theory that she would endorse Biden at the Superbowl after Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs won.
Swift is a four-time Grammy Album of the Year winner, has the most awarded country music album of all time, and is globally recognised for her contribution to pop music
Regardless, Ms Chingaipe has based her entire opinion piece on the premise that Swift ‘exists in an apolitical world that refuses to engage with the social and political issues around her’.
‘If she does, the focus is squarely on the men who wronged her – romantically or professionally,’ she said.
‘As a self-declared feminist, Swift made her mark by excavating her interior life as a thin and pretty blonde-haired teenager who played the guitar and could sing. Despite growing out of her teens and firmly into her 30s, Swift’s art remains stuck in this permanent state of aspirational girlhood, aided by the fact she’s childless, and it is this seemingly innocent and wholesome world into which many are drawn.’
Swift is a four-time Grammy Album of the Year winner, has the most awarded country music album of all time, and is globally recognised for her contribution to pop music.
She’s also released two indie folk albums later in her career, and is known for transitioning through ‘eras’ to change up her sound as she gets older.
Daily Mail sought comment from Ms Chingaipe and the Saturday Paper over the backlash.
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