By Caroline Palermo, Staff Writer
The public loves a good break-up story. Just look at 2021 and the global sensation “driver’s license” that launched Olivia Rodrigo’s singing career. A ballad so raw and catchy and devastating, it was almost impossible to not look into the backstory behind the lyrics. The mysterious blonde girl who swept Rodrigo’s muse away — who were these people? It did not take long for the internet sleuths to figure out the characters of our love triangle: Olivia Rodrigo (our precious girl-next-door), Joshua Bassett (our careless rogue), and Sabrina Carpenter (our promiscuous homewrecker). And like all good break-up stories, we need someone to love and we need someone to hate. In this case, we show our love and support for Rodrigo’s career and send death threats to Bassett and Carpenter for breaking her heart. After all, we can only support a woman if we can tear down another one in their place.
But, unlike all of the other celebrity love triangles that once graced the covers of tabloid magazines, this love triangle had a more alarming twist. It’s important to discuss that, unlike previous scandals, social media was not a part of the equation. Fandoms and stan culture could not come to their idol’s defense in swift waves of support, nor could they harass and send death threats to their enemies as easily and efficiently as today. In the case of this love triangle, thousands of people went to Bassett and Carpenter’s comments to threaten their lives. Bassett ended up in the hospital for septic shock in part from the reactions of “driver’s license.” Rodrigo never made a statement nor did she ask fans to stop harassing the pair.
Ariana Grande recently released her new album eternal sunshine which touched on her divorce from her ex-partner Dalton Gomez. While Grande’s album received critical acclaim, the album also received attention for the intimate lyrics describing her failed relationship. In response, her own fans have harassed and sent death threats to Gomez. Grande, however, came out with a statement rather quickly addressing the hate being sent and condemning the behaviors and actions.
Which brings us to Ms. Taylor Swift.
Swift recently announced her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department. Swift’s album is highly anticipated by her fandom — and it’s not just because of new music. This is her first album since her six-year relationship came to an end last year with actor Joe Alwyn. Swift has not directly addressed the break-up; she has made vague references and slight digs funneled throughout PR pieces that praise her newest beau. But, this album will be the first time Swift provides an insight into the fallout of their relationship.
Until now, Swift’s fan base decided to piece together their own versions of what led to the end of the relationship. These allegations ranged from as light as miscommunication to as serious as cheating and abuse. Besides the usual death threats and harassment, more intense fans even upvoted a known AI-edited video dubbing Alwyn with one of Swift’s new lyrics as evidence to support their narrative. Can you blame the fans? After all, Swift’s own moniker for the album is “all’s fair in love and poetry.”
Except it’s not.
While artists have the right to express themselves, the power imbalance that many of these songwriters and their ex-partners have is often ignored. The artist’s perspective will be the main, if not only, narrative of events. And when musicians have large platforms, this means they have an even larger responsibility to use it correctly. So if an artist’s fanbase is spreading hate and threatening lives over a vague lyric, it is the artist’s responsibility to reign them in.
In this era of social media and stan culture, it’s easier than ever to fall into the comfort of internet anonymity. Sending death threats and harassing celebrities doesn’t feel serious, because no one expects said celebrity to read them. Three years ago, John Mayer even called out a person who directly messaged him a death threat and asked if they really wanted him to die. The person immediately retracted their statement and told him they didn’t actually think he’d see it. That’s why a statement like Grande’s is a necessity when these things get out of control. It’s a reminder and call-out that this behavior is not acceptable, nor should it be tolerated.
Swift needs to do this too, especially when the thesis of her upcoming album is the justification of weaponizing art. But she cannot ignore her current caliber of power and influence right now. She has the power to stop the harassment and hate sent her ex-partner’s way. But similar to Swift’s political advocacy, she’ll probably do nothing.
It’s a shame these statements need to be made at all and that the art cannot stand on its own without being used as justification for dragging a stranger on the internet. But, that’s why statements like these are important. If anything, these statements serve as a reminder that artistic expression should never come at the expense of another’s well-being. Especially when a relationship just didn’t work out.