Taylor Swift Envies Fellow Artist Marshmello for His Privacy

P. Claire Dodson
Updated
“It’s really smart!"

Taylor Swift is now part of a select group of people with an incredible accomplishment: they've all seen who's under Marshmello's mask (and no, it's not Shawn Mendes).

That's right, Taylor has officially met Marshmello, the popular DJ known by his iconic marshmallow mask with two Xes over the eyes. On Dec. 11, Tay was officially crowned Woman of the Decade by Billboard, and in the ensuing interview, she shared an anecdote about meeting both Billie Eilish and Marshmello in her dressing room before the American Cancer Society’s annual We Can Survive benefit concert. (So hey, that means Billie likely isn't Marshmello either).

Taylor recounted the experience of meeting the artist: "Two dudes walked in — I didn’t know which one was him,” which, fair. But she then realized the choice to wear a mask is actually... not a bad idea. “It’s really smart!" she added. "Because he’s got a life, and he can get a house that doesn’t have to have a paparazzi-proof entrance."

Even though she laughed after saying that part, it still feels a little bleak. After all, we're talking about an artist who reportedly used facial recognition tech at her concerts to protect against stalkers, and who also reportedly may have traveled inside a suitcase to avoid paparazzi. Add to that the burglaries of her home and the fact that several of her stalkers have received legal punishment, and it makes sense why she'd be into the idea of a mask to hide her identity.

While she might envy Marshmello his anonymity, she's embracing the platform her fame has given her as a way to fight back against what she sees as injustices in the music industry. At one point in the interview, she addressed her recent altercations with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta about owning her music, and also alluded to her past fights against Spotify and Apple Music for artist royalties. “New artists and producers and writers need work, and they need to be likable and get booked in sessions, and they can’t make noise -- but if I can, then I’m going to,” she told Billboard. “I know that it seems like I’m very loud about this, but it’s because someone has to be.”

That spirit is probably why more than 20 new artists have reached out to her personally to ask for help navigating the beginnings of fame, she says in the interview.

"I’ve had several upheavals of somehow not being what I should be. And this happens to women in music way more than men," she said. "That’s why I get so many phone calls from new artists out of the blue -- like, 'Hey, I’m getting my first wave of bad press, I’m freaking out, can I talk to you?' And the answer is always yes! I take it as a compliment because it means that they see what has happened over the course of my career, over and over again."

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue