Taylor Swift faces criticism for attending the US Open with Brittany Mahomes. Why the pop star is likely ignoring the noise.

Taylor Swift's good name is her only downfall, and if her fans have learned one thing from the lyrics of “But Daddy I Love Him,” it's that she doesn't play along when it comes to dealing with public backlash.

In the space of a week, Swift managed to anger people on both the right and left ends of the political spectrum with her relationship with her good friend Brittany Mahomes. But Swift seems to be sending a clear message to the public with her latest appearance.

On Sept. 5, the Grammy winner made headlines when she and Brittany sat in separate suites at the Kansas City Chiefs game—a marked change from when they were inseparable last season. People online speculated that it was due to Brittany's political views, as she appears to support former President Donald Trump. (Swift supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.) Headlines quickly began to circulate about the alleged “feud,” and many celebrated Swift seemingly taking a stand.

Three days later, the same people had the exact opposite reaction to X when Swift and Travis Kelce sat with Brittany and Patrick Mahomes during the US Open men's singles final. In case there was any confusion, the group agreed to meet for dinner after the game.

It didn't take long for the headlines to change. “Taylor Swift just publicly hugged Trump supporter Brittany Mahomes at the US Open, and that's why it's a pretty big deal,” said a Buzzfeed News article. Swifties expressed their disappointment online.

Some of the pop star's fans are heavily involved in the upcoming presidential election. The group “Swifties 4 Kamala” is mobilizing online. While it's likely that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, will get Swift's endorsement, it hasn't happened yet. Swift does these things on her own terms.

After breaking her apolitical public stance in 2018, Swift endorsed various Democrats. She was criticized by the left for not supporting Hillary Clinton when she ran against Trump in the 2016 election. Fans heard Swift regretfully break her silence about it in her 2020 Netflix documentary Miss America.

The same rules apply to their private lives.

During the superstar's brief affair with Matty Healy in 2023, many Swifties were unhappy with her choice of partner. He was criticized for racist jokes and allegedly denigrated the singer years earlier. Swift remained silent until the album in April The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), where they took aim at the critics of “But Daddy I Love Him.”

Swift clearly doesn't cave in to public pressure on a sensitive issue, so don't expect her to do the same with Mahomes now.

Blake Lively, another of Swift's best friends, faced backlash in August over the drama surrounding her film It ends with usThe singer did not promote the film on social media as she did with Ryan Reynolds. Deadpool and Wolverine, Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink twice, and Sabrina Carpenter's new album Short and sweet.

Media outlets reported that Swift appeared to snub Lively online, and while her social media actions may have been intentional, what she did next was also intentional. Days later, Swift threw Lively a star-studded birthday party at her Rhode Island home.

Although Swift has been the subject of some controversy online over the past year, it hasn't dampened her success. Her record-breaking “Eras Tour” is expected to gross $2.165 billion by the end of 2024. TTPD spent its first 12 weeks at No. 1 on the charts, climbing back to the top spot after a few weeks of slipping into the top five. Plus, she and Kelce are in great form. It's unlikely that the recent noise on the internet will reach the biggest star in the world.

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