Taylor Swift Gets Unlikely Republican Support

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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.


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A Republican who previously labeled Taylor Swift "braindead" has surprisingly come out in support of the singer.

Conservative commentator and OutKick host Tomi Lahren defended Swift's right to appear at NFL games to support her boyfriend Travis Kelce as he edges closer to another Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Swift and the tight end went public with their relationship in September, when she watched him play at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and she has been a regular fixture at games. But her attendance has drawn much publicity, with some critics accusing her of being too much of a distraction.

tomi lahren and taylor swift
Tomi Lahren at The Grand Ole Opry on November 16, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee, and Taylor Swift on January 9, 2024, in New York City. Lahren has defended Swift on social media. Terry Wyatt/Gotham/GC Images

"It's not Taylor Swift's fault the NFL and media are exploiting her appearances at games," Lahren wrote on X, formerly Twitter on Tuesday. "She is allowed to go to games, she is allowed to support her boyfriend. If football fans are annoyed, take it up with your NFL."

Replies to Lahren were mixed, with some agreeing and others saying Swift should sit among the crowd to not attract attention.

"It's nauseating. Josh Allen is dating a movie star, she sits in the stands with the fans. This is clearly all prearranged. Is there another team in the Super Bowl?" replied one person.

Another added: "During Sunday's game she was on screen for 44 seconds. Get over yourself, Barbie."

And a third wrote: "Why do cameras show her without showing the other players wives? There's a few of them too! Take it up with the network showing the game."

Lahren's comments were a surprise as she has often criticized Swift in the past, including labeling her as "braindead." She made that statement on her Tomi Lahren is Fearless podcast when Swift and Kelce first went public.

"Her lefty, liberal braindead political opinions aside, I am a fan of Taylor Swift and I have been since way before she went full liberal. She's also single-handedly done more for the U.S. economy than any Democrat president, maybe ever, and when I heard the rumors of her and Travis Kelce, at first I thought, there is no way this is gonna last," Lahren said.

"I mean, he's an athlete. He's big, he's strong, and unlike her other boyfriends, looks like he can withstand a strong breeze without falling over or crying. So not necessarily her type as you can see, but then I saw this ad, and well, it all came together for me."

Furthermore, having a Republican speak out favorably of Swift has gone against the norm of conservatives recently. There has been there's a faction of Republicans, including conservative news network Fox News, who have been telling the world how much they dislike Swift.

Update 02/02/24, 6:51 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include Lahren works at OutKick.

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About the writer

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.


Writers Page

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more