Taylor Swift addresses rumors and speculation about her sexuality and addresses her famous "squad" in the prologue for her newly released 1989 (Taylor's Version). In the prologue, Swift reflected on her experience with "slut shaming" and media coverage of her dating life throughout her career and particularly in the lead up to the release of the original 1989 in 2014.
"I had become the target of slut shaming — the intensity and relentlessness of which would be criticized and called out if it happened today," Swift writes. "The jokes about my amount of boyfriends. The trivialization of my songwriting as if it were a predatory act of a boy crazy psychopath. The media co-signing of this narrative. I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt."
Swift explained that she "swore off" dating and even distanced herself from platonic relationships with men, due to incessant tabloid coverage.
"It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with. If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him. And so I swore off hanging out with guys, dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian era."
In the heartfelt note to fans, Swift gave insight to the formation of what became known as her "squad," made up of fellow famous women, including Selena Gomez, Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, Blake Lively, Lorde and more. The "Wildest Dreams" singer explained that in her desire to grow and focus on her female friendships, she found that many began to speculate on her sexuality.
"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 continues. "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 would."
Swift also shared her gratitude to fans who "loved and embraced this album."
"You, who heard the wink and humor in 'Blank Space' and maybe even empathized with the pain and satire," she writes. "You, who saw the seeds of allyship and advocating for equality in 'Welcome to New York.' You, who knew that maybe a girl who surrounds herself with female friends in adulthood is making up for a lack of them in childhood. (Not starting a tyrannical hot girl cult)."
The singer-songwriter ended her note by looking back at her creative reinvention.
"I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love so dearly," Swift shares. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the magic you would sprinkle on my life for so long. This moment is a reflection of the woods we've wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest dark."
It's been a banner year for Swift. After wrapping up the first leg of her massively successful Eras Tour, she launched Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film. The success of each, in addition to Swift's stellar catalogue of music (and her decision to re-record her first six albums) has catapulted her into billionaire status, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
