Taylor Swift Reacts to ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Reviews With Sweet Gesture
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 08: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO BOOK COVERS.) Taylor Swift performs onstage during night two of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 08, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
The reviews are in, and Taylor Swift is shouting out some of her most heartfelt critics with a thoughtful gesture.
The multihyphenate took to her Instagram Stories after The Tortured Poets Department commentary started rolling in, sharing links to some of her most favorable reviews with lyrical responses and special shoutouts for the authors—purportedly, a direct response to one publication's decision to publish a scathing review anonymously.
In screenshots captured by Page Six, Swift reposted a glowing review from Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield, tagging the author and gushing, “And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding," a line from the title track of her latest album.
When The Times published their five-star review, she quoted “The Alchemy” in response, adding, “These chemicals hit me like whiiiiite wiiiiine,” on her Stories.
The decision to specifically seek out and tag the accounts of each author comes after Paste published a largely negative criticism of Swift's 11th studio album anonymously, defending the decision in a tweet that called back to their negative review of Swift's Lover. The publication said that "the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work," leading them to prioritize the current review's author's "safety."
Editor’s Note: There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed ‘Lover,’ the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work. We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.
— Paste Magazine (@PasteMagazine) April 19, 2024
Paste called it "some of Swift’s worst lyricism to-date" and slammed Post Malone's feature on lead single "Fortnight," condescendingly questioning those who laud the artist as the "songwriter of the century" by suggesting we need to "open the schools."
The magazine's decision was met with mixed feelings, with one reader writing, "I don't agree with most of this review, but I do respect your decision to protect your staff. They don't deserve to be hunted for having an opinion on art."
"I’m a reporter and while that behavior described above is unacceptable, so is penning a calculated hit piece disguised as a review and not having the conviction to stand by your opinion and sign your name to it," another said.
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