Remember the country girl who used to sing acoustic ballads on her guitar, with hits like “Teardrops On My Guitar” and “Love Story?”
Well, you won’t be surprised to hear that she’s no more.
Now, Taylor Swift is more of a pop idol than anything else, and like many other big celebs, she is using her music as a medium for her politics.
On Monday, Taylor Swift released her latest music video for her song “You Need To Calm Down”, which doubled as a promotion for gay pride and her new petition to pass the Equality Act – a measure which would forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The video mocked traditional America and conservative anti-LGBTQ advocates, portraying them as stereotypical redneck hicks.
For reference, here’s the video:
Unfortunately for Taylor, the music video was harshly received on Twitter, by both the right and the left.
Even some gay people seemed to hate it and think that Taylor was just pandering, badly.
Take a look at these brutal response tweets:
Even satirical news website The Onion wrote an article mocking the music video:
Here's a rundown and interpretation of the music video, from CBS News:
The second the synth-heavy pop tune begins, some intentional yet not-so-obvious symbols flash across the screen. First, it's a framed photo of a simple quote: "Mom, I am a rich man." Cher uttered the iconic stereotype-busting line to her mother, who suggested she settle down and marry a rich man.Â
Swift then throws her flaming phone on her bed — perhaps a comment on society's current addiction with technology and social media. Soon, she is laying in an above-ground pool outside of a burning mobile home.Â
Her trailer park is atypical — it's filled with celebrities, most of them an integral part of LGBTQ visibility. Laverne Cox waters her flowers as Dexter Mayfield dances in his yard and Hannah Hart does bicep curls with a boombox.
Later in the video, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita get married – and Ciara officiates. Hayley Kiyoko, Chester Lockhart, and RuPaul also make appearances, as do cast members of "RuPaul's Drag Race." The queens are dressed like Swift and other fellow pop stars.
The real Taylor sips tea with the "Queer Eye" guys and Todrick Hall, who was an executive producer for the video.
And the famous faces keep making cameos: Ryan Reynolds focuses on a rainbow painting, Olympic skater Adam Ripon sells snow cones and Ellen DeGeneres gets a "cruel summer" tattoo from Adam Lambert. Billy Porter does his best runway walk past a group of protesters.
The protestors show up in the video often. They hold hateful — and often misspelled — signs and condemn Swift and her friends. But this group doesn't phase Swift and her pals.
The video culminates in a food fight, during which Swift, dressed like french fries, finds and comforts Katy Perry, who is dressed like a hamburger. In real life, the two singers publicly ended their infamous feud last week, with Perry sharing a photo of the cookies Swift baked her.
The Hill also has more to say:
  Taylor Swift is pushing for support of the Equality Act in a star-studded music video for her new single.A who's who of Hollywood — including Ellen DeGeneres, RuPaul, Billy Porter, Ryan Reynolds, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and many other stars and LGBT activists — appear in the video for "You Need to Calm Down," Swift's song released Monday.
Lyrics for the track include lines such as, "Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD?" — a reference to the country's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media advocacy organization — and "Sunshine on the street at the parade, but you would rather be in the dark age."
The 29-year-old Grammy Award winner also sings, "You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace / And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate / 'Cause shade never made anybody less gay."
Gay rights opponents depicted in the video are seen carrying misspelled protest signs, including one that reads, "Get a brain, morans!"
This is not the first time Taylor has gotten political, although it was the first song she wrote to advocate for her liberal views.
Last October, she wrote a lengthy post on Instagram on occassion of mid-terms:
Earlier this month, Swift also posted on Twitter a photo of a letter to her senator regarding the Equality Act:
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