Swifties. You likely know a die-hard Taylor Swift fan, or maybe you are one. These are the folks who buy physical copies of her albums, read into all of her lyrics, and save up money to see her perform live.
For these people, everything Taylor Swift does is a spectacle. Swifties are the reason Taylor’s relationships dominate headlines, her feuds are plastered all over social media, and her albums continuously break records. Taylor has a very dedicated fan base, but at some point, you have to wonder why people want to be associated with this group.
Because if you’re not a Swiftie, discussing the artist can get exhausting. People act like Taylor Swift is the only person who releases music, and if you dare to express a less-than-positive opinion, you need to brace for judgment.
The making of a record-breaking showgirl
Taylor Swift’s 12th album, The Life Of A Showgirl, sold just over 4 million copies in its first week of release. This surpasses Adele’s 25 to become the highest single-week haul in US history — a record that seemed impossible to beat in the modern streaming era.
When Adele’s 25 set the record, she hit the achievement following the hype from her previous album, 21. She also released the album around the holidays, but most of her sales were attributed to fanfare. Taylor’s approach was a bit different. She released over 30 different versions of The Life Of A Showgirl in the first week. According to Billboard, fans could buy 27 different physical versions and 11 digital variations. This allowed the hardcore Swifties to buy 38 copies of the album, and they were all technically unique — even though they all had the same 12 tracks.
Taylor Swift’s sales figures are an exception to the rule in the modern era. It’s estimated that 84% of music industry revenue comes from streaming, but during its first week, streaming only accounted for 13% of The Life Of A Showgirl‘s sales. Still, this equates to over 500,000 sales equivalent units from streaming, which is a huge success. It just demonstrates that people are buying duplicates of an album they can stream for no extra cost.
This isn’t a surprise; it’s part of Taylor Swift’s business model. She’s had eight albums sell over 1 million copies in their first week, and she seems to be pushing the envelope with each release. This means she’ll release multiple versions of her projects in the pursuit of breaking records and dominating charts. Clearly, it’s working; Swifties will spend more money to obtain exclusive editions of her projects.
Why do people dislike Swifties so much?
So we’ve demonstrated that Taylor Swift is popular. That’s not news, and it doesn’t mean it’s wrong to support her. And the truth of the matter is: There isn’t anything inherently wrong with being a hardcore Swiftie, but it does send a message.
Swifties are known for many things, and enjoying Taylor Swift’s music is just one piece. There are other character traits that get applied to this group which can ruin their reputation.
They’re always looking for clues
Taylor Swift is known for her Easter eggs. Every aspect of her life can feel planned, because when you look back, you see that she had been dropping clues about her next project while working on her past projects. This was true during her monumental Eras Tour, and Swifties can now see all the ways she “told” us about The Life of a Showgirl.
On the surface, this is all fun and games, but it can also come across as gossipy. People who are always looking for hidden meanings are unable to fully enjoy the music for what it is. Many people aren’t looking to play games when they’re listening to pop music, and Swifties make it difficult to mindlessly enjoy her songs.
They defend a stranger based on one-sided narratives
Taylor Swift’s music is filled with tracks that are allegedly about her former romances and friendships. Recent projects have featured songs rumored to be about Joe Alwyn, Kim Kardashian, and Matty Healy, and those are just newer additions to her growing list of subjects.
Of course, Taylor writes from her own perspective, which is common for artists. This makes her the protagonist in almost all of her retellings, but most people know there are two sides to every story. There’s nothing wrong with trying to put yourself in the antagonist’s shoes, until you discuss this with a Swiftie. They’ve thought about the lyrics, formulated an opinion, and it’s going to protect Taylor.
They feed an overfed cash cow
The Life Of A Showgirl took Taylor’s album sales to new heights, and she surpassed her own records by releasing dozens of variations of the project in the first week. Taylor is no stranger to this strategy — her album Midnights launched with four main vinyl editions that could be used to form a clock. But Showgirl seems to be peak consumerism, with one fan spending nearly $1,000 to buy every variant in the first week.
This indulgent album release followed the conclusion of her record-breaking Eras tour. The average ticket price was over $550, with many seats requiring a 4-digit purchase. There has also been a concert movie experience in 2023, and there’s an upcoming End of an Era mini-series coming to Disney+ in December 2025 to keep squeezing money out of the tour.
By this point, Taylor Swift is a billionaire. It’s one thing to enjoy her music, but most people would wonder why fans would spend so much money to support a person who doesn’t need the extra funding.
They ignore Taylor Swift’s vindictive moves
In 2024, Taylor Swift released a live version of her The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) album in an effort to keep Kanye West’s Vultures 2 from debuting atop the Billboard 200. It worked, but no one was surprised by this move because Taylor and Kanye have a long-standing feud. This alone may have been excusable, but it wasn’t the first time she employed this tactic. Some people allege she released digital variants of TTPD to block Billie Eilish from debuting at No. 1, and she released different exclusive live versions of TTPD to block Charli xcx from debuting at No. 1 in the UK.
Taylor has also gotten criticism for demanding writer’s credit for Olivia Rodrigo’s songs 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back and Deja Vu, alleging similarities to her songs New Year’s Day and Cruel Summer. Taylor was awarded credit, but some fans think she intentionally mocked the situation. She wrote the song imgonnagetyouback, which is similar in title and theme to Olivia’s Get Him Back! Swifties may support Taylor in these endeavors, but from other perspectives, it just seems she’s trying to cut down her competition.
Swifties are just so common
By the numbers, Taylor Swift is the biggest pop star currently making music. This means she has a lot of fans, and being a Swiftie would be considered “basic.” There’s nothing wrong with enjoying basic things — they’re usually popular for a reason. But you’d be lying if you didn’t acknowledge that people often reject basic things. It could be because they’re deemed dull or vapid, but by labeling yourself a Swiftie, you’re basically going to annoy people.