Taylor Swift Says She’s "Obviously Pro-Choice" and Gets Political After 2016 Election Silence

From Harper's BAZAAR

• Taylor Swift just dropped her new album, Lover.

• She also opened up about why she didn't speak up about politics before October 2018.

• She said her public image, her mother's battle with cancer, and her feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West made her feel "useless."

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Everyone please mute Taylor Swift's new Lover album for just one second so we can talk about how she got so real and opened up about her mental health, her feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and why she didn't speak up about politics before last October.

Before fall 2018, Swift was often considered an "apolitical figure" who avoided revealing her political views or endorsing candidates. It's something that didn't sit well with many Swifties and her silence even caused her to be adopted as an alt-right icon. Now, it's clear that Taylor regrets how she handled everything, and she shared what kept her from speaking up sooner.

In an interview with The Guardian, she spoke about how she thinks Donald Trump believes America is an autocracy and not a democracy, "where you’re allowed to disagree, dissent, debate." She also said there's been a lot of "gaslighting the American public into being like, 'If you hate the president, you hate America.'"

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I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

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But despite what she thinks about Trump, she didn't say anything during the 2016 election, something she's "really remorseful for." Her reason: "I was just trying to protect my mental health—not read the news very much, go cast my vote, tell people to vote. I just knew what I could handle and I knew what I couldn’t. I was literally about to break.” At the time, Taylor was dealing with her mother's ongoing battle with cancer, her never-ending feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and feeling "just useless. And maybe even like a hindrance."

Swift also confirmed that if she did endorse someone during the last presidential election, it would've been Hillary Clinton. She added, "Obviously, I’m pro-choice. I just can’t believe this is happening." As for her plan going forward, she's going to "do everything I can for 2020."

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