Header illustration courtesy of Lauren Lynch.

On the heels of poor reviews and endless discourse following the release of “The Life of a Showgirl,” it feels like an appropriate time to broach the question that has permeated its way into the hearts, minds and mouths of the general public. What exactly does Taylor Swift owe us?

Authenticity? Check. Activism? Of course. Great music? A given. Another tour? Maybe. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The laundry list of needs, wants, desires, etc. that fans, tabloids and the rest have clamored for, isn’t a new phenomenon; rather, it’s a dance that’s done every album cycle that Swift has gone through since the release of “Taylor Swift” in 2006. Yet, she’s the most famous woman in the world; and likely has been for longer than we’d like to admit. She’s a become a beacon of projection for so many — not to mention a big sister, a best friend or mother to some. She’s allowed herself to fill this role — so naturally she’s okay with it.

But just because we collectively made someone so famous (even the more than few who’ve made it clear how much they despise her) does that grant us permission to demand her to be exactly what we want or need her to be? Take the “authenticity” argument, for instance. We have no idea who Taylor Swift is behind closed doors. She very well could be the fame hungry, attention seeking monster that she’s accused of being. But we’re not entitled to know if she is or isn’t, because in such case, she would be forsaking every last bit of privacy she has been afforded. Privacy that — despite how monstrous she may be — is still a fundamental basic human right.

It’s easier to accept her as an artist, public figure or celebrity is we take a moment to accept that she’s always performing to some degree. No matter how much criticism we beat her over the head with, it’s never going to crack the carefully constructed public image that she’s spent nearly two decades crafting.

Yet she does have a platform, the largest one by most accounts, so Swift should be utilizing her fame and money for the good of the world; she’s a billionaire after all. But do we really expect her to say — fly commercially? In September of 2023, hundreds upon thousands of fans swarmed the wedding venue of Swift’s close friend Jack Antonoff during his nuptials to actress Margaret Qualley. And once again, it’s no surprise considering the level of fame in which Swift has amassed. If she were to fly commercially and cause a massive frenzy through the airport, she would ultimately be blamed for causing the commotion.

Yet maybe she should be more vocal about politics—especially in the current climate we find ourselves. She endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024 to no avail. She may have been able to boost the local economy of nearly every city she took the Eras Tour, but she couldn’t sway public opinion in favor of the candidate she supported. Perhaps she’s being told not to speak out, or perhaps she’s being human. Someone who feels that she, although the most famous woman in world, couldn’t move the needle—so why try again? To criticize her for this, falls into the sphere of projecting our own shortcomings onto the easiest target we can.

But at the very least, we should be allowed to vocalize our opinion on her music. There’s validity in saying that the music doesn’t resonate—but to reduce to her abilities to one or two songs we don’t like is long, drawn out and far too dramatic of an overreach. Sweeping generalizations aren’t effective when reviewing music; nor is providing a lack of analytical commentary on the body of work. Barking on X (formerly Twitter) or laying into the contents of one of Swift’s albums on Tik Tok doesn’t by any means make us music critics worthy of listening to. Opinion is opinion, but without analysis or anything beyond spewing hate for something, we can’t act as though we’re the end all be all authority on what’s good and what isn’t.

Yet, Taylor Swift isn’t going away. She may for a while, but she’ll never be fully gone or out of public opinion. So, it’s time we ask ourselves: why we feel the need to project or demand or criticize her for not meeting each and every individual standard we hold?