MADISON MALONE KIRCHER: Swifties on political conspiracy theories. You need to calm down

EDITOR'S NOTE: Madison Malone Kircher is a New York Times reporter covering internet culture.

Taylor Swift often encourages her fans to devise fanciful theories about her music, but this week, a very different type of wild speculation sprung up around her: political conspiracy theories being peddled by Fox News, Donald Trump surrogates and the extended Make America Great Again universe.

The theories range widely but include outlandish claims that Swift is secretly working for the U.S. government and that her relationship with Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is part of a lengthy political scheme. In this theory, her dalliance with Kelce and the NFL ends with the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and Swift announcing her support for President Joe Biden in the forthcoming election.

The attacks may be intended to embolden a right-wing base and perhaps change a few minds in other parts of the political universe, but Swifties, predictably, remain indifferent. Several said the attacks have only motivated them to be more politically engaged.

“When I see an uptick in hate toward her or, like, conservative men saying she needs to stay in her place, it makes me go ‘Wait a minute; you can’t box a woman in,’” said Raven Mosley, 31, a mental health professional and Swift fan from Vancouver, Washington.

“It makes me want to be like, ‘Hey, let’s pay attention to what’s going on out here!’” Mosley added. “They’re getting mad. They’re getting angry. There’s a reason for that.”

Theories about Swift are prevalent online, but suggestions about what her political motivations are, in terms of her relationship with the NFL, were promoted last month by Fox News political commentator Jesse Watters.

“Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?,” Watters said during a broadcast. “Well, around four years ago, the Pentagon psychological operations unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a NATO meeting.”

Watters and others may contend that there is a political motive behind Swift’s appearances at NFL games, but Mosley noted that Swift had previously endorsed several Democrats, including Biden, during the 2020 election. Those endorsements predate the theories involving the Pentagon, the NFL and Kelce.

Venisha Jardin, 17, said she appreciated that Swift had spoken out in the past about some political matters but that her endorsements had not swayed her opinions. (Jardin, who is from Florida, will turn 18 just a few weeks too late to vote in the 2024 election.)

Mickayla LeMaster, 22, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, said she hadn’t always agreed with Swift’s endorsements, but that did not dissuade her from supporting the artist’s music. She said Swift’s endorsement of Biden in 2020 left her feeling “indifferent.”

“I thought it was interesting that she was on Biden’s side of things,” said LeMaster, who works in the tourism industry. (LeMaster added that she had not voted in the last election and described the recent theories about Swift as “absolute madness.”)

Stacey Peasley, 41, found the recent wave of conspiracy theories to be “far-fetched.”

“Whether it’s her music, her tour, her movie, her boyfriend, the NFL, whatever it is, everybody’s eyes are on her, and she’s a very good target right now to get attention,” said Peasley, a workers’ compensation supervisor in Salem, Oregon. “That’s what it is. It’s just for the attention for the news media.”

“She’s getting under their skin,” said Kandace Montgomery, 36, a financial crimes investigator in Portland, Oregon. “It makes me truly happy that, like, this one individual, this blond girl, female pop star is pissing off these, like, big right-wing groups — the dads, Brads and Chads.” (Swift has drawn criticism from some football fans who claim she is shown too frequently during the games she attends. “I’m just there to support Travis,” Swift told Time magazine in December. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”)

The increased conservative attention on Swift might be having an unintended effect, Montgomery added.

“All they’re doing is putting Taylor in their mouth; they’re putting Taylor on their platform,” Montgomery said. “And then more people are going to look up, ‘What is Taylor Swift’s political affiliation? What are her thoughts on politics?’”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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