Taylor Swift’s new song “Look What You Made Me Do” was recently knocked from the number one chart position by rapper Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” sending a message that Swift should hear loud and clear:
It’s time to speak up about racism AND the teeth I’ve been sending her.
While Ferguson burned Taylor told us to simply “Shake It Off.” She’s utilized casual feminism when it has suited her, but remained SILENT when our president-to-be instructed us where best to grab women. Today we expect more from our artists, and I bet if Cardi B received a series of teeth in the mail, she would at least shout out the person who sent them out on Instagram or something.
At this highly charged moment in our nation’s history, failure to denounce injustice is the same as tacit endorsement. As fans, we’re inclined to give our entertainers the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Swift wants to maintain her privacy and let the art speak for itself. Maybe the first tooth got lost in the mail. But there’s no way the same mixup could happen four more times.
Taylor, I don’t want to turn my back on you as a fan. So please, before it’s too late, before you burn any more bridges, before you ruin any more song bridges by turning them into spoken word skits. Break your silence.
It’s no longer enough to remain on the sidelines. And it’s no longer enough to communicate with me only through coded messages in your music. You NEED to address social injustice, and all the teeth I’ve sent you in the mail, directly and immediately.