In ‘Sizzle This,’ The Swaddle team adds to the noise around the pop culture moment of the week.

At first, it was confusion. Then, Twitter, tabloids, and the Tumblr girlies alike got whiplash from the news that Taylor Swift is allegedly dating questionable indie rocker Matty Healy from the 1975. According to sources (Twitter sleuths) from this week, Healy has engaged in anti-Semitic behaviour in the past; he has also allegedly been racist and misogynistic. Since then, fans began to trend #SpeakOutNow to call Taylor Swift out for her double standards. There may be some truth to these allegations or there may not, but everyone has opinions nonetheless. Here are ours.

SM: My hot take is that this is a conspiracy theory started and fuelled by none other than Ye. I reckon another showdown incoming in fall 2023.

AB: Taylor Swift’s latest guy is receiving significant flak from Swifties online: could it be the Nazi salute, the offensive comments about Ice Spice on a now-deleted podcast episode, or the general misogyny and racism? PoC Swifties have flocked to social media to show their discontent; entire Twitter threads exist chronicling Healy’s (long, long) list of offenses. “To say I’m disappointed would be the truth,” Jordan (@adhdwhileblack), a Black content creator, shared on TikTok. “And for any white woman that has ever questioned any Black or person of color’s distrust in you, this is why. Because you are nobody’s ally.” Oof, that’s gotta sting. It might be time to say goodbye to TSwift and her brand of basic-core white-girl music; she’s in her bad boy-era now.

HK: The Taylor Swift fandom is a delicate balancing act – half-split between believing there is more to Swift than her relationships, and yet inevitably making everything about her relationships. Taylor Swift’s ex-partners are not seen to be human, they are either vilified, their personal lives dissected, or their actions justified (Matty Healy I’m looking at you). I am not one to defend Matty Healy’s controversial takes, but the hypocrisy of some Swifties shocks even me – Twitter threads defending his actions have littered my feed, and this justification comes not from a place of authenticity, but rather simply as an attempt to rationalize Swift’s decision.

Taylor Swift cannot be held as the hallmark of wise decisions, all we can hope for is a good relationship for them, and a good next album.

RN: My hottest take all along is that people should stop setting so much store by who Taylor Swift dates because it’s a disservice on three levels. 1) It perpetuates the notion that her dating life is the most interesting thing about her, 2) Neither she not any other celebrity is interesting enough on their own, so this makes us manufacture controversy around her dating choices c) In the end Taylor is all of us when she starts a dalliance with a man whose vibes are off during a post-breakup rough patch, so the judgement feels a bit hypocritical.

Also, low-key suspect Taylor Swift is secretly bored of her good girl, can-do-no-wrong image, and wants to spice things up a bit. All PR is good PR!