Singer/songwriter Kid Rock blasted pop star Taylor Swift on Twitter Friday, suggesting the 29-year-old artist’s liberal activism is just a cynical ploy to court Hollywood and get acting gigs.
“Taylor Swift wants to be a democrat because she wants to be in movies….period,” Kid Rock, a 48-year-old artist whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, tweeted.
He also suggested Swift is so desperate to get into Hollywood she would perform a sexual act. “Oldest move in the book. Good luck girl,” he added.
Taylor Swift wants to be a democrat because she wants to be in movies….period. And it looks like she will suck the door knob off Hollyweird to get there. Oldest move in the book. Good luck girl.
-Kid Rock
— Kid Rock (@KidRock) August 9, 2019
Kid Rock’s tweet came after Swift’s cover story on Vogue‘s September issue dropped on Thursday.
“Unfortunately in the 2016 election you had a political opponent who was weaponizing the idea of the celebrity endorsement,” Swift said about Donald Trump, explaining why she did not endorse Hillary Clinton.
“He was going around saying, I’m a man of the people. I’m for you. I care about you. I just knew I wasn’t going to help. Also, you know, the summer before that election, all people were saying was She’s calculated. She’s manipulative. She’s not what she seems. She’s a snake. She’s a liar. These are the same exact insults people were hurling at Hillary. Would I be an endorsement or would I be a liability?” Swift said. “Look, snakes of a feather flock together. Look, the two lying women. The two nasty women. Literally millions of people were telling me to disappear. So I disappeared. In many senses.”
Swift has emerged as an activist for LGBT issues, attacking Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) for supporting “discrimination against gay couples” and for refusing to vote for a pro-transgender version of the Violence Against Women Act. She has also emphatically endorsed the radical Equality Act, which has drawn opposition from a wide array of feminists, religious freedom defenders, and pro-life activists. Her latest album, Lover, includes a song — “You Need to Calm Down” — supporting the LGBT group GLAAD and warning that “hate” and “shade never made anybody less gay.”
Kid Rock’s attack was crude, and he may have missed the mark. Taylor Swift may be the biggest voice in pop music right now, and Hollywood should be courting her. Perhaps she wants to counter this narrative that she’s a closet conservative, but her LGBT activism seems rather genuine. Even if Kid Rock is wrong and her liberalism is genuine, that does not make Swift right to support liberal causes and Democrats. Her attacks against Blackburn were disgusting. But it seems unlikely Swift is just adopting a liberal stance for Hollywood.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member