Did Ariana Grande Just Call Out Taylor Swift for Her Political Silence?
Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift‘s relationship dates all the way back to 2014, when the pop artists performed together at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. But the world has changed a lot over the course of those four years, and so has Grande. Increasingly, the high-ponytailed singer has used her platform to spread awareness, as she did when she performed at this year’s March for Our Lives, and more recently, when she wrote a love letter to the LGBTQ community. As she’s become more political, though, Grande has become less empathetic to those who don’t use their star power to make a stance. Ahem, Taylor Swift.
When asked by Elle about her pop peers who haven’t used their voice politically—the writer adds an aside about “those who have a certain Reputation,” though it is not clear if Swift specifically was mentioned to Grande—Grande replied that she thinks that kind of silence is “wild.” “There’s a lot of noise when you say anything about anything,” Grande said in her new cover story, talking about the backlash she’s received for being so political. “But if I’m not going to say it, what’s the f–king point of being here? Not everyone is going to agree with you, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to shut up and sing my songs. I’m also going to be a human being who cares about other human beings; to be an ally and use my privilege to help educate people.”
While it’s impossible to know whether or not Grande was asked directly about Swift’s well-documented political silence, her answer undeniably throws shade at any artists who’ve yet to share their own beliefs.
It’s worth noting that Grande and Swift haven’t had any bad blood before. After their Victoria’s Secret collaboration, Grande said she “would just be so down” to join Swift’s squad, telling the U.K. radio station Capital FM, per E! News, “All those girls are really nice.” That same year, in 2015, when Grande shared a feminist letter on Twitter, in which she said she was “tired of living in a world where women are mostly referred to as a man’s past, present or future PROPERTY / POSSESSION,” Swift commended her. “I’m so proud of you, always, but especially today,” she said in a tweet that has since been deleted—along with a picture Swift shared on Instagram of the two of them with the caption, “Oh my God she couldn’t be cuter.”
Now that caring about her Reputation is behind her, perhaps Swift will find her political voice soon.
