Taylor Swift’s The Swift Life, the pop singer’s new social networking app, only launched over the weekend, but it didn’t take long for the app’s newsfeed to become a hotbed for divisive political commentary.
Various Swift Life users have taken to other social media platforms to voice their displeasure after reportedly seeing a flood of comments on the app from supporters of President Donald Trump engaged in political arguments with other users. The Daily Beast first reported on the phenomenon on Tuesday, noting that the app’s forum, where Swift fans can talk to one another and share their favorite “Tay Tay” content, saw an early influx of political arguments.
One user, named Britt, posted a comment on the app saying, “Republicans and Trump supporters have just as much right to be here as everyone,” which prompted many other users to post their own thoughts on the matter. One user posted the comment, “I just don’t accept gays lesbians and bisexuals,” according to The Daily Beast.
Some Swift Life users took to Twitter to complain about the heated political debates taking over the app—and to call for a focus on more Swift-ian discourse.
Https://twitter.com/Swiftie_AllDay/status/942250616092368897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecut.com%2F2017%2F12%2Ftaylor-swifts-new-app-the-swift-life-swarmed-by-trump-fans.html
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The political turn for The Swift Life is particularly interesting due to the fact that the pop singer herself famously avoids taking any political stance (with some critics arguing that her neutrality is a gambit aimed at maintaining the broadest possible appeal), with Swift even declining to denounce racist supporters who call her an “Aryan goddess.”
It’s also not what was intended for The Swift Life, an app touted as a social platform where Swift fans can engage with each other and share photos and Swift-themed emojis, called “Taymojis.” As Coins2Day noted in October, Glu Mobile (the company that partnered with Swift on the new app) said in statement, “The Swift Life provides a creative, inclusive and community-driven place for users to better connect with each other… and Taylor.”
Coins2Day contacted Glu Mobile for comment and we will update this article with any response.
The app, which is available as a free download in Apple’s iOS store, launched a little over a month after the release of Swift’s latest album, Reputation. The pop star is preparing to embark on a world tour in support of the new album, starting in May 2018.