Taylor Swift is public enemy No. 1 – well, maybe No. 2 – judging by the obsession of right-wing conservatives.
The singer has burst through the pop cultural stratosphere with her rerecorded albums, her billion-dollar Eras tour, and last but not least, her high-profile relationship with two-time Super Bowl champion Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Ignoring the artist's impact is almost impossible. And this kind of frenzy has breathed new life into numerous wild claims about Swift.
Swift's mere presence is seemingly disturbing former president Donald Trump's peace. Swift lives rent-free in Trump's head even though he dominates the Republican caucuses and aims to secure the nomination against his mortal enemy President Joe Biden. Without even trying, Swift has a gained the attention of the Republican party, which has recently ignited wacky, out-of-pocket conspiracy theories swirling around the pop star and her very public life.
Here are some of the most eyebrow-raising viral conspiracies about the "Karma" singer, political and otherwise:
01 The long NFL con to secure Biden's second term
For months MAGA heads been spreading theories that Swift is attempting to control the outcome of American politics through the Super Bowl. It all began when Swift began dating Kelce last fall. The singer began supporting her new beau at his games, appearing in the private box where family and friends usually sit to watch the games.
Historically, Swift has supported Democratic candidates, LGBTQ+ initiatives and spoken out against Trump. Her boyfriend Kelce may also share similar values, evidenced by his support of Black Lives Matter and the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine partnership. The suspected liberal leanings of a power couple that has all eyes on them could not go unnoticed.
Therefore, some football bros and conservatives became increasingly annoyed when the NFL broadcasts flashed to Swift during the games, claiming that her appearance was ruining the sport and the viewing experience. In response to the reaction to her presence, Swift said, “I’m just there to support Travis . . . [and I] have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
The firestorm only grew on Sunday as the Chiefs secured a spot at this year's Super Bowl. Vivek Ramaswamy tweeted, "I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall. Just some wild speculation over here, let’s see how it ages over the next 8 months."
I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall. Just some wild speculation over here, let’s see how it ages over the next 8 months.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 29, 2024
Rolling Stone even reported that MAGA influencers are peddling theories that the Super Bowl is "the Democrats’ Taylor Swift election interference psyop" and the Super Bowl is "totally scripted" to "elect Joe Biden WW3 will likely follow in a 2nd Biden term and millions will die."
Trump and his GOP allies are convinced that Swift is ready to endorse Biden for the second time, and his allies are ready to wage a "holy war" of American culture wars if she does. Reportedly, the former president said he is "more popular" than Swift and has more followers than her Swifties.
02 A super-secret author of a spy comedy featuring a cat
The internet or at least Swifties on the internet have theorized that she may be behind spy comedy movie "Argylle." This all began when the film's production company claimed that the movie an adaptation of the thriller by a mysterious writer named Elly Conway. It turns out that Elly Conway is actually the name of the fictional author in the movie (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) who has written a series spy novels. Directed by Matthew Vaughn of "Kingsman" series fame, the movie also stars Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena and Samuel L. Jackson.
Before learning the truth, The Hollywood Reporter first tried to track down Conway in September and could only find bare Instagram account with nine followers — one of which was a Howard fan account. Now the Instagram is active, with Conway posting, "How do you fluster an introvert? Publish her first novel, have Matthew Vaughn buy the movie rights, then tell her she has to start using social media for “visibility.” So I’ve returned to where I feel the most at home. I love bookstores and this one especially has my heart."
Her comments are filled with Swifties theorizing about the author's identity — assuming she is Swift.
Furthermore, the film's trailer shows the character Elly Conway as a cat owner who uses a backpack/pet carrier equipped with a window for easier pet viewing. The bag resembles one that Swift has for her own cats and is seen carrying it in her documentary "Miss America." Most importantly, Elly’s cat is a Scottish Fold, the same cute breed as Swift’s two famous cats Olivia and Meredith.
"Argylle" star Howard addressed the rumors on "The Tonight's Show with Jimmy Fallon."
"[Director Matthew Vaughn] must have been subconsciously influenced in some way, shape or form, but he had no idea of this rumor until his daughter ran into his room and was like, 'Why didn't you tell me that Taylor Swift wrote 'Argylle?'''
She continued, "The Swifties are such an incredibly supportive community – amazing, amazing, amazing – and it got to the point where I was reading these things and I was like, 'Matthew, you haven't told me the whole truth, man.'"
The singer is not a stranger to pen names, using Nils Sjöberg to help ex-boyfriend and DJ Calvin Harris write the song "This Is What You Came For," so the theories could actually continue. But for the record, the film's writer is listed as Jason Fuchs, with no additional false claims about adaptation.
03 A closeted queer woman
The singer is used to people speculating on her love life so it comes as no surprise that no matter how violating it is, her sexuality is actively in the conversation too. There is a subset of her fans who believe Swift is not straight and who call themselves "Gaylors." They spend countless hours dissecting Swift's every move, lyrics, music videos and her female relationships to prove that she is queer.
In 2014, rumors began swirling about Swift's sexuality as she developed a close friendship with former best friend and supermodel Karlie Kloss. A photo of the pair kissing went viral and the internet exploded. Despite all the closeness and public events where they were spotted together, Swift’s rep asserted that the possibility of a Swift-Kloss romance was complete “crap.” However, Gaylors were adamant that Swift was just in the closet.
For years Swift never addressed the rumors, but last year she finally spoke her truth.
In "1989 (Taylor's Version)'s" written prologue, Swift writes, “Being a consummate optimist, I assumed I could fix this if I simply changed my behavior. I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth and my female friendships."
She continued, "If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that — right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.”
Taylor Swift’s prologue for #1989TaylorsVersion 🥹🩵
— Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) October 27, 2023
“This moment is a reflection of the woods we’ve wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest dark.” pic.twitter.com/HGQDTPqKgo
Although Swift finally addressed the rumors and her friendship with Kloss has ended, the speculation has continued as recently last month when the New York Times published an opinion piece peddling Gaylor theories called, "Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do." The piece was met with a barrage of criticism from fans and even Swift's team who reportedly called it “invasive, untrue, and inappropriate.”
04 Secret 4Chan user
As far-fetched as all the conspiracy theories have been thus far, this one takes the cake. Reported by the Huffington Post in 2013, the publication claimed that Swift was using the anonymous message board website 4Chan. Users on the site said they uncovered a celebrity lurking amongst them.
At the time, the pop star was said to be an active user on the website, and users compiled evidence proving it. Some of the evidence was that the user they assumed was Swift claimed they were "one of the 50 most famous people on the planet." The user said they were famous for being an "entertainer." Some more proof that the singer was supposedly on 4Chan was that the user had a new kitten, asking people to help them name it. Users helped her pick the name Meredith . . . which at the time was the name of Swift's new cat too.
Theory? Hardly. https://t.co/yOTc7WqaXf pic.twitter.com/SX5EQG14S0
— 𝕵𝖆𝖉𝖊 ☧ (@JadeAtrophis) November 6, 2023
But the most convincing piece of evidence that people highlighted was that the 4Chan user posted a photo with her face cut off in the same location as the one in the singer's own photo.
If the theory was true, all of the masterminding and Easter Egg-like qualities Swift has in her music and album rollouts could have stemmed from her mysterious online usage as a young 23-year-old.
