Taylor Swift posted this photo on her social media yesterday. The Snake Fam is already doing a forensic examination of every detail to see what it all means. The snake emojis, the wine, the āBig Isolationā (a throwback to her lyric āYou and me got a big reputationā on āEnd Gameā), and her daisy-print sweater. Incidentally, Katy Perry announced on Thursday that sheās dropping her first single from her upcoming fifth album. The single? āDaisies.ā Could it be a collab with Taylor? Snakes and daisies, daisies and snakes. (Massive sidenote: I saw a snake on my hike this week and I freaked out and screamed āJESUS!!ā)
Just after Taylor posted this photo, she also posted about an issue which has been raging through social media all week: the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American man who was jogging through his Georgia neighborhood when two white men (father and son) hunted him down and shot and killed him. At the time of her tweet, the white men had not been arrested, although they were arrested and charged just hours after her tweet (coincidence?). The Georgia community is devastated and the black community is devastated. Taylor Swift is devastated too:
Iām absolutely devastated and horrified by the senseless, cold blooded, racially motivated killing of Ahmaud Arbery. #JusticeForAhmaud
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 7, 2020
I’m glad that she didnāt wait to say something. When LeBron James tweeted something about Arberyās murder on Wednesday, it got a lot of media coverageā¦ but I strongly suspect that more white people will pay attention to this situation because Taylor Swift said something about it. And while that sucks in a general sense, on a Taylor-specific level, Iām glad sheās learning how to use her platform to talk about this kind of thing.
heavens above to your family!!šš¾āš¾ā¤ļø #StayWoke #ProfiledCauseWeAreSimplyBlack š¢š¢
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 6, 2020
This young man was jogging, and was hunted down and killed for absolutely no reason other than the color of his skin. His name is Ahmaud Arbery. I join everyone calling out for #JusticeForAhmaud and I'm sending all of my love to his family. #IRunWithMaud pic.twitter.com/HKkrspFj9d
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 7, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram.
I am glad more people are talking about this.
Its unbelievable that this happens.
Sort of hijacking the top comment to say there is a run for Ahmaud (run 2.23 miles) as today would have been his 26th birthday. I’m glad Taylor and Twitter is ablaze with shouts for justice. It seems the camera man who filmed the murder was in on it as well, blocking him in with a truck and armed.
I’m curious who the camera person was, to me the video looked like a police body cam which would make sense since someone had called 911. But I’m just speculating
I took up jogging during quarantine and did the #irunwithmaud this morning. It was a touching way to memorialize him.
Just heard on the news that the guy who filmed was part of the lynch mob. Makes “sense” as those scum always want to document their cowardly actions.
I wonder how the video got leaked then. It seems like this is something they wouldn’t want out? Unless they were that confident they got away with it… actually, I think I just answered my own question.
@Christine it probably got out because the white supremacists involved were likely sharing it with others as a way to brag about it.
Even worse.
The friend of the lynchers has told he media he released it because he thought it would HELP his friends.
WTF?
What goes through their heads that anyone could look at that video and think it exonerated the lynchers?
Yes, they do believe it exonerates them.
This was a lynching. Horrifying.
I am so sick of this woman giving credit for doing nothing.
That’s right, she did nothing. She followed a trend on Twitter. That is it.
She should have put it in a email draft like Susan Collins and take a seat.
And if anyone wants to go today, lets go.
I wish she had taken the time to seek out a black voice to retweet and amplify.
Really?? She has millions of followers. If she just retweeted a “black voice”, you’d probably complain she was trying to take credit for the tweet, using this for/looking for attention, yada yada…
The woman isn’t perfect, but damn! She really can’t win.
Speaking out is critically important. You do you but many of us wonāt stop.
She has 86 million followers and should’ve stayed silent? Okay then.
@Tiffany and Enis Where did she take credit? you both need to chill as a fellow black woman I am appalled at your attitude and you saying she should have sought out a black celebrity to retweet mehn thatās so low of you smh! If she didnāt comment yāall will complain now she did youāre still complaining this says a lot about the both of you
Thanks @Emmy for being a voice of reason
Yeah, I do believe for one minute you are a black woman. It is amazing these comments from people who have never commented on this site before want to play this as a fellow black woman gamem
And as for the rest of you, I don’t need to calm and I. See. You.
You ain’t no ally, you ain’t worth trying to get along with and I will continue to call you out with gusto.
Definitely youād be surprised since you seem to know everyone commenting here. What you said was flat out wrong and I am glad not many people think like you keep calling them out like you said and donāt focus on the more serious issue that black young men arenāt safe in their own country! Your comment makes absolute zero sense šš½šš½šš½šš½šš½šš½
Taylor did nothing? Really? She could have staid silent ..that’s doing nothing. And she’s not allowed to voice her horror on a hate crime? No white person is allowed?
Yikes @purplehaze forever. This is the time we listen to POC, not verbally attack them because we donāt agree. Tiffany isnāt angry that Taylor tweeted, sheās angry that Taylorās getting applauded for tweeting. This is bare minimum of what white people should do during this.
@purplehaze. That is exactly what I am saying. Thin skinned white people like you are not helpful or needed.
Tiffany smh for you! Yes one day I hope you realize there re better ways to deal with issues not your way if thin white skinned Taylor didnāt comment yāall will still be mad at her you need to pick a struggle
Sure..I’m thin skinned & attacking now..got it. Carry on.
Taylor has a huge following. Thereās power in that. She started talking about an election in Tennessee and the importance of voting and voter registration soared.
By speaking about topics like this, sheās asking her fans to pay attention to whatās going on in the world, to have opinions, to give a damn. That matters. Youāre right, all she did was tweet. Itās nothing extraordinary. But she has a platform and influence over young minds. I became interested in politics and thought caring about the state of the world was cool because bands I liked as a teenager were political. Thatās it! Thatās why Iām a journalist today. What influential people bring attention to matters.
@gomberg. You continue to be like that and see how it works out for you. These these people you trying so hard to please see you being verbally or physically attacked. Those people? You make sure to take them out for coffee, that you pay for, and calming explain why them watching with complete contentment was wrong. You do that. š
@Case, I love your comment. I am not a big fan of Taylor and historically she has shown a tendency to weaponize her whiteness and assume a victim stance. That being said, I think she has grown in the last few years and shown an ability to learn. I liked that she highlighted the election in Tennessee and I liked that she tweeted about this. She is using her platform to highlight something that many of her followers probably have no awareness of. There is power in that.
I think the path to allyship is one of learning and growth. Would I have preferred that she highlight a black activist speaking on this? Yup! But it is still good that she took the time to say anything at all.
As minorities, we cannot dismantle systems of oppression ourselves- we need allies to participate, including groups that have been oppressors. Long way of saying there is value in taking action(however small).
Comment below in response to @Case
Exactly Let her use her platform because this is not on Black people or BIPOC to fix This is a white people problem and needs white people to amplify and do the work of making change We are tired We can’t do anything without being murdered Can’t take a jog Can’t sit in our own homes Can’t walk down the street eating skittles The list goes on and on and on We are exhausted and if coronavirus doesn’t kill us given the disproportionate affect to Black people in US and UK due to the underlying systemic medical and environmental racism then white supremacy will We’re tired and white folks need to take up the mantle and deal with this this country that they created and continue to benefit from Whether wp think they aren’t racist or don’t have racist friends it’s important to do the work of shifting their privilege because white people never have to walk down the street or drive their car to the grocery or any other simple act of being alive and worry that the color of their skin will get them killed That is what we live with every single day And as long as wp don’t admit–even those supposedly nice not-racist ones–the benefit they have in a country founded on white supremacy there will never be any change Black people have been getting lynched by racist white people since this country was founded on the genocide of Indigenous peoples And this happens every day it’s just that this time it was caught on video Wake up America This is the truth
@Tiffany I am a WOC and I am glad Taylor used her platform to say something as she is often quiet. She has been speaking up more which is a good thing and people are encouraging her to do so. With the amount of followers she has across social media platforms it does matter and it is meaningful and is certainly doing something on her part. I’m not sure why you are challenging people to come at you with your anger, why waste the time?
I’m white. The bar is set so low for us whites that simplying tweeting about an African American gets much applause. But otoh, I am glad to see she is using her fame to try to bring attention to it. But her doing this is like giving credit to a dad for watching his kids. Nice.
I don’t have hate for Taylor per se, but honestly, I’d vibe her more if she had done anything on these issues prior to this point.
She bandwagons movements and self-promotes off them (like that girl squad feminism nonsense), and she was at the very least Karen-adjacent in the Kanye mess, so I’m always in grain of salt mode with her, honestly, whether that is fair or not.
Yes, she has a huge following, and sure, its great to have someone shine a light, but it really was not that long ago that even this site was discussing how she was embraced by the white supremacist community, and it took her a long time to take off that crown.
For her to be embraced for doing the bare minimum? I don’t think its that hard to see the basis for the anger.
THISšššš
I’m no die hard taylor swift fan (apart from loving most of her music) but I disagree that she embraced the fringe neo nazis perception of her. I feel like she would have been dragged no matter what she did. If she came out in protest she would have been criticized for drawing attention to a fringe group but when she said nothing people dragged her for not saying anything. I personally wouldn’t want to give them the satisfaction of getting attention if I were in her situation. I guess I just don’t see her asking for applause as she’s never claimed to be an advocate for racial justice. She has 86 million twitter followers and many of her fans will start caring about something if taylor talks about it. I get she has a problematic history but I also think people nitpick her way too much.
I agree, Superashes. She’s an astute business woman and she reads cultural/societal trends then bandwagons the s*** out of them. Tweets are meaningless to me (personally) and from a marketing/PR perspective, it would be unwise for a celebrity NOT to tweet about such things in this climate. It’s a recipe for hypocrisy and we shouldn’t really give credit to what people say or grandstand about… just watch their actions. How many ”Male feminists” have turned out to be sexual predators? It’s too easy to give people credit for tweets or virtue signalling (in saying that, I do think it’s good celebs tweet about these awful things, but they shouldn’t be applauded for doing so). Conversely, I’ve read she gives generously to charity and that’s something truly valuable and she deserves credit for that (as does anyone who gives generously and puts their $$ where their mouth is). This story was so sad and horrific š
@ pawneegoddess Taylor Swift sat silent for a long time while knowing she was being propped up as an “Aryan Goddess”. She even sent a cease and desist to a blogger who called it out AFTER Charlottesville when this was no longer a matter of giving attention to some fringe group. She could have said something, i is really not that hard. Instead she waited to confront it at a time where it would have the least impact on her bottom line.
Like I said, I’m glad she tweeted on it, and she has an extensive reach, but her motivations are always suspect to me, and I can see where Tiffany’s anger is coming from.
@superashes I respect your opinion and I can see why Tiffany is angry. I obviously don’t know what she was thinking (or what her PR team thought was best), just putting myself in her shoes and genuinely wondering what I would do in that situation. I do feel sympathy for her just because I feel like people are unfairly critical of her for small things rather than (rightly) keeping the attention on times she genuinely did the wrong thing. I’m open to my perspective on this being wrong I just see that people will drag her no matter what she does.
She’s really not getting much credit, as she’s simply one voice among many on this matter, but it’s certainly better than an alternative of silence or indifference when Taylor is positioned to reach 86 million followers and bring some additional awareness to an incident of injustice. Her message was compassionate and pro-POC, but I guess there is no perfect thing she could say that would please everybody. She can’t stop racism with a tweet, no one can. Criticizing her right now doesn’t help anybody.
Is this Karen?
as a mid20ās black man who enjoys his daily jog(s) this case has done me in. we canāt do anything without the suspicion that weāre up to trouble, or running cause weāve caused some sort of trouble. plain and simple is we just donāt matter. weāre expendable. iām tired of fighting all the injustice thats been going on throughout my life, in the townships iāve lived in, the people iāve met. i just donāt donāt see an end in sight
š¢ I’m so sorry.
Iām so sorry.
I am so sorry but you are not expendable and you matter. I know what you are saying and mean but I just want you to know that you arenāt even if the world doesnāt always treat you like it.
I’m sorry Penguin. I can’t imagine the constant stress and exhaustion.
I’m really sorry that is your life, Penguin. I wish I could help.
My heart goes out to you. Itās so heartbreaking! The level of injustice is off the charts.
My heart also goes out to all of the parents of black children. I canāt imagine the fear Iād feel every time my child walks out the door.
These crimes not only murder innocent people, they traumatize an entire group of human beings. As a country, we must stop the harm being done to black people. āThe harmā is so broad in scope and comes in so many forms, but it has to stop. This is intolerable.
As a female runner who has been hooted at, jeered at and runs wishing I had eyes in the back of my head so I could see if someone was going to jump out at me/on me…that does not even come close to comparing to what you deal with on a daily basis and for that I apologize for all human kind.
I am absolutely outraged at this, even more so that it took TWO MOTHER F#$KING MONTHS for an arrest for these two pieces of shit. I cried for this man, it is a travesty.
You should be able to go out for a g-d run, just because all those two fat F#$ks know is how to run to the fridge is not your problem. Again, I am truly sorry for you. I hope you can take a run today in his honor.
@Penguin Iām a WOC who also loves to run. This is always a worry of mine. I think about it every time. Is this the day someone decides to use me as a target knowing my assailant will never get prosecuted or convicted?
I am so sorry Penguin
Penguin my man, as nice as it is to hear from other people tell you what you said isn’t true, I’m afraid I’m gonna be realistic and say you are absolutely correct. In this era where Trump gets legally voted into office along with Boris Johnson and British people voting to leaving the EU because they can’t stand any more immigrants coming it, yes the racism and xenophobia are very very strong, and pretending otherwise will do more harm than good.
Although Penguin, it’s not just you. Here in Europe if you’re Romani or Muslim you equally don’t matter. Lets not pretend otherwise. Or if you’re a Eastern European living in Western Europe. Yes, you don’t really matter as much as a Westerner. Or if you’re of North African descent and live in France….
Heck, if you’re poor and can’t afford insurance you also don’t matter as far as American doctors are concerned…
Yup. The whole world has gone to s**t. last time people werenāt racist was Roman Empire. they exploited everyone by their abilities, not color of skin.
But the way Europe treats Roma people, refugees and how Western Europe treats people of Slavic countries-which arenāt openly hated Like Romani, but Are underpaid, harassed and treated as a lower level of European just points out itāll get much worse. I was visiting scientist in Austria and fellow scientists in Vienna were very surprised āI got to that levelā, because Croatians are āfor low-level jobsā. š¤® and donāt get me started on scientific conferences where weāre treated like service, not colleagues. And donāt get me started how people treat aroma children in the streets, the level of trauma is insane, letās not talk of hate speech against refugees which has become a political recommendation for some….vile, vile.
The world is going to sh*t
During Distance Learning we’ve been studying (with my 7th grader) about the emancipaton act and the civil rights. Looks like we’re right where we started…
What a messed up and broken society we live in where a young black man can’t even go for a run without being hunted down and shot. Just watch the murderers get away with it. #BlackLivesMatter
I love Taylor but this is giving her a bit too much credit. I don’t want to elaborate on this because I honestly don’t know what kind of language to use considering the topic.
I watched the video and I cried. It was breathtakingly horrific. This was a lynching. A cold blooded, racially motivated murder. I worry about the safety of others all the time and this is why. A man going for a run in broad daylight was hunted and killed. This is not a safe country for millions of our citizens and I worry about all of us all the time.
The bigger discussion here is that white people only listen to other white people. White people WATCHED the video of this man being hunted and killed while on a jog and didn’t speak up until Taylor Swift said so. Those folks – they are the problem. I have no problems with the amount of support the black community has gotten for this horrific murder, I just wish White people didn’t wait until one of their folks said its wrong to speak up.
That’s not true..I thought it was horrific from the minute I saw it. I don’t need Swift to tell me it’s okay to speak out.
I can only speak for myself of course, but I’ve been following the story and discussing it for a while now, before the video went public. It’s infuriating that it took the public seeing and demanding action for arrests and charges. Everyone involved in that decision making needs to be held accountable as well.
I don’t know if anyone was waiting for Taylor to speak out, but given that there are people who aren’t aware of it (shame on them) maybe she reached some given the size of her platform.
Agree
I became aware of this two days ago and signed a petition seeking justice, as did several other people I know, because the people I choose to associate with arenāt racist assholes.
I donāt care for Taylor Swift but if her tweet gets some young people to look at the situation then I donāt see whatās the problem. Yea it sucks that her voice carries more weight than others for some people, but again I ask so what?!?
I am horrified and disgusted that lynching continues to happen. Everyone needs to raise their voice against this travesty.
Iām as white as they come, but to say all white people only listen to other white people isnāt true.
Those of you replying to this with “not all white people” need to stop. It’s innappropriate. Just listen. If you’re not one of those white people then it’s not about you.
And my comment isn’t meant to be rhetorical or flippant. I am legitimately asking what I can do and how I should respond to this as a white person.
@Grant, thanks for asking this question. Itās a hard thing to do and very much appreciated. Like @MrsBanjo says, the most helpful thing would be to listen and to speak up when you can.
A more relatable example for non-minorities might be schoolyard bullying. Say thereās a bully within the popular crew that pushes an ostracized kid around. One day the kid canāt take it anymore and screams about the bullying. Immediately, the popular crew says āNOT ALL OF US!ā
Itās true, they never called taunted the kid or pushed him against the lockers. But they also never called the bully, their friend, out for his actions. And when the bullied kid spoke up, instead of listening, the crew immediately became defensive. They didnāt reflect on how their popularity shielded them from being bullied. How their refusal to hold the bully accountable equates to acceptance of the bullyās actions. And how that reinforces the hierarchy at school overall.
If you are not the bully, but a member of the popular crew who listens and does speak up when you can, then these comments arenāt directed at you. Let people rant at the bullies. Thatās all we can do.
The notion that adult whites ‘listen’ to Taylor Swift is really stupid. That said, ime most people favor in group sources. Sometimes to the point of an echo chamber.
Further, if anyone of any race feels they have been mischaracterized, wth speak up! Trying to silence people youve just insulted makes you the bully, not them.
I’m numb. I can’t begin to understand the world we’re currently living in. We have truly lost our souls.
The horror is traumatic. It really is.
And it’s not even currently. I was born in 1988 and I can’t remmember a time when racism didn’t take lives.
I think this has always been out there and just gets recorded and discussed more now due to cell phones but yes, in the past few years it’s been harder and harder to take…
As the white mom of a black kid, I am terrified.
All these mofos whining about lockdowns, take note- this is is real tyranny: when a whole group of individuals fear for their lives just going out to jog, and know that if something bad happens to them, there will likely be no justice.
The same people swallowing that “Plandemic” nonsense just sit back and ask, “well what happened before this video? Cause I bet something happened.” F— these racists mofos.
I stan this comment.
All true.
Great point.
This, and the fact that it took so long for those men to be arrested is awful too. It’s sad that on top of dealing with the stress and fear caused by this pandemic, his parents and other loved ones have had to deal with this painful and traumatic situation too.
Every celebrity whose IG I peeked at yesterday commented about this issue. Thatās good, but it shouldnāt have taken that to make law enforcement act. Sadly, that is too often the case. I hope that pathetic Stand Your Ground excuse doesnāt work this time.
I think EVERYONE should be talking about this. Celebs and non-celebs. That video was horrific to watch. This is beyond sad and enraging.
As a Georgia citizen I am white and devastated and will listen to anyone who supports justice for this appalling hate crime. There are no words of solace.
I am so sorry this bullshit is still happening a generation later.
There’s a call for the D.A. to resign (frankly should be charged himself for ignoring a murder) and the number is 912-554-7200. As a Georgia citizen, your voice matters – let them hear it.
The D.A. is an elected position there, if that POS doesn’t resign, please support whoever runs against him.
Thank you. Calling now. It’s my area code too so this is scarily close to home.
Every one of them should be investigated for keeping this snuffed out exactly like they wanted it.
Itās nice Taylor retweeted something but Iām happier that Ellen did as her demographic Is older and may never have seen this news at all if she hadnāt. Like if the queen of daytime comedy is saying something, older white people really canāt ignore it out of existence.
And if youāre looking for a very thoughtful
Post on this you should read what Demi Lovato posted on her IG. Very thankful she said what she did.
I wonder about the average age of a taylor swift fan right now. Are young people (teens/tweens) getting into her newer stuff or is it mostly those of us who were listening to her right from the beginning? Many of her fans want to be just like Taylor and so will care about this because she tweeted about it if they hadn’t heard what happened before. I bet she has some fans who don’t really follow the news and who looked up Ahmaud because of what she tweeted. Obviously it’s not like she solved the issue but I think it does make a difference when celebs use their platforms to draw attention to issues.
I’m very curious what you think of as “older” and why you assume these “older” people would be ignorant of the news.
Wrong spot.
Look, Taylor means well and I’m glad she’s said something but she gets way, way too much credit for a tweet. As a Black woman, I’m kind of tired of the overdone praise for this sort of thing by white women.
That said, some of the replies to the tweet (not the racist MAGA types, who are despicable as one can expect)āoof. People should be annoyed at the system which heaps praises on a tweet from a white celeb, not be mad at the celeb themselves unless they are patting themselves on the back or whatever. Taylor did nothing wrong by tweeting about it & I’m kind of exhausted at performative outrage on social media or outrage directed at the wrong target. Like there are far, far more important things to discuss (like Ahmaud’s murder) than to jump in Taylor Swift’s twitter replies and get mad at her for acknowledging an injustice.
Anyway, I’m so glad those two a-holes have been arrested by the third guy should be charged, too.
Taylor has worldwide recognition. HER millions of followers come from around the world. All those will read about the issue. I am to American, I knew about this because I speak English and my language setting in some of my social media or news are in english. Bet, if I didn’t speak English I would not know about this terrible incident (S) that have happened over the years.
Taylor (or other similar to her) have millions of fans that don’t care that she tweets in different language, her reach is much bigger than most.
this is so sickening. I fail to understand what could be so wrong with these kids of people.
Iāve lived with my partner for 11 years, since he was 23. Iāve watched the weathering happen to him in real time, more every time something like this happens. These events are so traumatizing and painful en masse. We thought moving to a majority-black city would help, but the racism in the surrounding suburbs in Detroit just drives the point home more deeply.
I hope we as white people can stop giving any type of racist space within our communities. Call these attitudes out and shame people. Ostracize then for their hate. I donāt know what else to do. As much as Biden sucks, heās the only shot for getting rid of Trump, which I believe we have to do to save black and brown lives.
To anyone in Georgia: we are all having a virtual run or walk in solidarity of Arbery’s 26th birthday today.
This is what needs to happen. More white people- and specifically famous ones need to speak out about racially-motivated violence and systemic racism in general. Black people can talk about it until we’re blue in the face but unless those who benefit from the systems in place speak up as well nothing will change.
Exactly
Everyone needs to be raging about this, regardless of the color of their skin. This is an outrage.
Jamila and Busy also spoke out. Itās not a TS specific thing, itās not controversial sheās following the wave. And I donāt feel sheās centring herself either . Yeah you guys are right , that she (and all white celebs) could indeed go further and praise a POC activist who made this more public
Thatās a cute pic but I never have high hopes for Katy Perry music š¬
As a rich whit girl from CO, I am disgusted. I may seem a Trump supporter. But make no mistake I am not. How many innocent, doing nothing black men have to be killed? George Zimmerman really did it for me – you canāt kill someone because they are wearing a hoodie!!!! You canāt kill someone because they look like they might rob your house as you chase them down in 2 pickup trucks with multiple guns. What is wrong with this country?!!!
ābecause they look like they might rob your houseā is a hell of a racist assumption.
I think Jessica is saying that is what the racists were thinking, not her view.
Um… I donāt know where you got off there. Please re-read my statement. Thanks.
I was hoping youād cover this and weād have a orange to comment. Make no mistake – I am outraged and Iām a rich white professional from Denver. Zimmerman – I see you and you can rot in hell! I thought the days of lunching were over but I am wrong… this is disgusting and should be unacceptable.
She is just some airhead celeb trying to earn points. Whatever, Taylor.