“King of horror stories” Stephen King, actor Mark Hamill and many fans said they stood by Taylor Swift when Mr. Trump said he “hated the singer”.
On the Truth Social platform on September 15, US presidential candidate Donald Trump attracted attention with the statement “I hate Taylor Swift” but did not give a reason. Writer Stephen King reportedly responded to Mr. Trump’s attitude with a post praising the singer’s talent on X a few hours later. He wrote: “I love Taylor Swift. Her music makes me happy.”
Writer Stephen King supports Taylor Swift on his personal page. Photo: AP/ X Stephen King
Stephen King , 77 years old, is a famous American writer. He is famous for his works in the horror and supernatural genre such as It , The Shining and Doctor Sleep , all of which have been adapted into films. Stephen became a professional writer in 1967 with The Glass Floor , and has published more than 60 books to date.
According to the Washington Post , many fans are currently outraged by the former president’s statement, and have been using the hashtag #ILoveTaylorSwift to support her. Some Hollywood stars such as Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, The Handmaid’s Tale actor Bradley Whitford, and Mia Farrow have expressed their love for the singer through the above keyword.
In addition to the artists, fans were surprised to see Scooter Braun – Justin Bieber’s former manager, who was involved in a music copyright dispute with Taylor Swift – defending her. On Instagram Story the same day, Braun posted a screenshot of Mr. Trump’s post with the caption: “Shake It Off Donald. Kamala 2024”. Shake It Off is a song by Taylor Swift from the album 1989 (2014), which is a response to negative comments about her.
Former manager Scooter Braun and his “supportive” post on Taylor Swift’s Instagram Story. Photo: Bradford Rogne/ Scooter Braun’s Instagram
Page Six believes that Scooter Braun’s move indirectly protects the singer from Mr. Trump, showing support for candidate Kamala Harris. However, some fans are not happy with the former manager’s actions because they think he once “ruined Taylor Swift’s career”.
In 2019, Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift were embroiled in a copyright dispute over their master recordings after the former manager bought Big Machine Label Group (Swift’s management company from 2006 to 2018) for $300 million, gaining the rights to sell and release Taylor Swift’s first six albums. The deal left her without the opportunity to buy back the rights to her own compositions, as the two had previously clashed.
Swifties have been calling on Braun to stay away from Taylor Swift, calling her attention-seeking. One user commented, “You can support Kamala Harris, but don’t mention Taylor Swift.”
The social media appearances of singer Taylor Swift and Mr. Donald Trump amid the 2024 White House race are currently attracting much attention from the public and the media. The incident began when Taylor Swift voiced her support for Ms. Kamala Harris on September 10 via Instagram , indirectly criticizing Mr. Trump for using fake photos of her for his campaign.
According to CBS News , the artist’s post helped increase the number of visitors to the presidential election website by 10 times compared to the previous week, becoming the inspiration for Kamala Harris’s team to carry out media plans and sell out fundraising products. Mr. Trump’s team also “borrowed” the idea from Taylor Swift to design T-shirts, calling on Swifties to buy in support. This action was criticized by the fan community, who said that he should be sued for copyright infringement.
Candidate Donald Trump and singer Taylor Swift. Photo: Reuters/ FilmMagic
Taylor Swift , 35, is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame with her country music in 2006. After 10 albums, Swift has received 14 Grammy Awards and 29 Billboard Awards, 30 VMAs trophies. In December 2023, Guinness recognized The Eras Tour as the highest-grossing tour of all time, reaching over $1 billion. According to Forbes , the singer’s net worth is about $1.3 billion.