A world class celebrity can command a world class news. And Taylor Swift is indeed amongst the stars.
Literally all writers and authors around the world who write posts about the entertainment industry know how famous Swift is, and her achievements in her works in music. So anything about her is pretty much newsworthy.
And someone in an op-ed on The New York Times is playing with fire, by publishing a piece speculating on her sexuality.
In a 5,000-word opinion piece titled Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do, editor Anna Marks listed references to the LGBTQ+ community, and perceived how Swift 's songs send coded messages that she was secretly a member of the community.
The op-ed heavily speculated about Swift’s queerness, and suggests that she is lesbian, if not bisexual.
The post instantly become viral, but in a bad way.
It started on January 4, when the The New York Times published the op-ed, which asks what would happen if Swift is not an heterosexual woman.
This is not a new notion, because there were plenty of fans and people who wondered if Swift’s relationship with Karlie Kloss was more than just a friendship.
People speculated this, by referencing Swift's pas work, like how the singer is known to have spilled her heart and feelings into her songs, and have been writing lyrics to describe her love life and her past partners.
And in this case, people were wondering about her rainbow-coated Lovers era, like the lyrics to "Betty," for example.
"It takes neither a genius nor a radical to see queerness implied by Ms. Swift’s work," the op-ed said.
After all, "Gaylor" as what some people called it, is a portmanteau of "gay" and "Taylor Swift," and it refers to a subset of the singer’s fans who interpret her and her work through a queer lens.
"Gaylorism," which takes place largely in online communities and on platforms like TikTok, ranges from queer readings of her songs to espousing the genuine belief that Swift is queer and has been signaling that queerness through her music and aesthetic for years.
These people believe that Swift may have secretly dated female celebrities, like Karlie Kloss and Dianna Agron, despite nobody can confirmed this speculation.
Logically, publishing an op-ed that speculates on the pop star’s sexuality using evidence that only appears to be largely concluded from her music and internet fan communities, quickly sparked controversies.
And predictably, the internet has been set aflame.
With some applauding the essay, praising how bold the writer was in claiming what has never been claimed, others claiming that the speculation is a major invasion of privacy.
"Because of her massive success, in this moment there is a Taylor-shaped hole in people’s ethics," said a person close to the situation, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
"This article wouldn’t have been allowed to be written about Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans."
"There seems to be no boundary some journalists won’t cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive, untrue, and inappropriate it is - all under the protective veil of an ‘opinion piece,’" the person added.
The op-ed begins with the story of lesbian country singer Chely Wright, who attempted suicide in 2006, as a way of illustrating the homophobic country music culture of the 2000s, the very time when Swift rose to prominence.
What follows is a thorough investigation of Swift’s performances, outfits, lyrics, and more throughout her career.
While there are obviously plenty of Gaylors who are celebrating due to how the op-ed went viral, a lot of Swifties, or fans of Taylor Swift, aren’t too pleased.
Several fan accounts have criticized the essay, with one tweeting that speculating on people’s sexuality is "disrespectful and wrong."
In all, the op-ed could only be written by someone who has been with the Gaylor communities.
An op-ed piece is a short column that represents the strong, informed, and focused opinion of a writer on an issue of relevance to a targeted audience. It's The New York Times that is often credited with developing and naming the modern op-ed page.
While an op-ed lives inside the newspaper, or in this case, within The New York Times itself, an op-ed is only written as a piece to express the opinion of an author and that the post has no affiliation with the publisher itself.
What this means, op-ed is highly subjective
So here, whether Taylor Swift is a straight, heterosexual woman, or a lesbian, or a bisexual woman, or whatever gender she may consider herself to have, it remains to be seen.
Swift has a long list of dating history, and at this time, her partner is Travis Kelce, an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Born in December, 1989, Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter.
She entered the entertainment industry at the age of 14, and singed a record in 2005 to become a country singer. She gained mainstream success when she departed her country image by embracing pop, indie folk and alternative rock.
Her songwriting, artistry, and entrepreneurship have influenced the music industry and popular culture, and her life is a subject of widespread media coverage.
As one of the most successful and famous musicians in the world, Swift has earned more than one hundred Guinness World Records, and received many awards and accolades.
Swift is also considered the highest-grossing female touring act, the most-streamed woman on various platforms, and the first musician who becomes a billionaire from just being a musician.
Besides that, Swift is also philanthropist and an advocate for artists' rights and women's empowerment.