An international sensation, Taylor Swift has impacted millions of lives in more ways than one. She brings joy with her wide range of music, making something for everyone to listen to and love. Whether you like pop, indie, or country music, Swift has music in each genre. Additionally, unlike many other artists, all her songs are written by her about her life experiences, making them relatable to other listeners. Her songs show that even a pop star like her is not very different from the rest of us, having the same emotions, feelings, and thoughts.

Swift does not deserve the hate she receives for trying her best and having flaws like any human. 

With her music and many sold-out tours, Swift has connected the world in ways never seen before and created a strong community of fans, often called “Swifties.” People of all ages and backgrounds see Swift as a role model, with many young kids even throwing birthday parties and events with themes based on her and her music. Young kids can even see Swift not only as a singer, but as a businesswoman, inspiring them to follow in her footsteps. Fans can see how she built an empire, starting small but making the right choices to become one of the most successful singers ever. 

But while many adore Swift for her music and kind personality, she often faces constant criticism for a myriad of unnecessary reasons.

Swift has been accused of polluting the world, putting out huge amounts of carbon emissions through her private jet and massive tours. But Swift makes extra efforts to not make pollution a bigger problem by buying double the carbon credits required for her tour which makes up for the trips she spends visiting her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, as well. While Swift does rely on an easy commute option, she cannot afford to waste her time in long airport lines or traffic jams. By offsetting her emissions, she’s giving back to the environment and cannot be blamed for the rising effects of climate change.

Another reason critics target Swift is due to her involvement in the sports world after entering into a relationship with Kelce. People are quick to criticize Swift for making football all about her, but the constant coverage of her is not even her fault. Swift does not ask the photographers to pan toward her during games; they do it because many fans of the NFL are also fans of hers. While many football fans find her a distraction to the game, they do not see the upside she brings to the sports world. Her attendance at the LVIII Super Bowl brought a surge in viewership by 53%, specifically of girls between 13 and 17. There is no more obvious reason for this except for her presence.

Additionally, many stories have been shared showing parents bonding with their children over football, something they had never done before, largely due to Swift. She has also generated about $300 million in revenue for the Kansas City Chiefs and brought a 400% increase in Kelce merchandise after she attended his game.

While people will continuously find reasons to dislike Swift, she has consistently benefited the world. While she does pose downsides, Swift makes up for it with the effort she puts into her music and putting on concerts for her fans. She is a role model for so many young children as a passionate leader and self-made woman. Throughout her life and career, Swift has positively impacted millions of fans’ lives and will continue to do so in her way. 

Over the years, Taylor Swift has cemented her place in the pop music industry and has become a household name around the world. During her Eras Tour, Swift generated $2.2 billion dollars in ticket sales in North America alone and hosted an average of 72,000 spectators per concert. Swift’s influence is indisputable, but is her music really that good?

At the beginning of her career, Swift was a country artist who made upbeat, catchy songs. This trend persisted throughout her first three albums until she released Red. Red was when Swift began frequently singing melancholy songs about ex-boyfriends and other misfortunes. This is where many of her albums lost character and meshed together to form a blob of sadness. Instead, many of her best songs were the catchy ones with energy while the others continued the trend of depressive tunes. Perhaps the worst perpetrators of this album are here three latest non- “Taylor’s Version” albums,  folklore, evermore, and Midnights. While less evident in Midnights, folklore and evermore are extremely boring and frankly unlistenable past the first play through. The future also does not have too much hope, as the name of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department doesn’t help her case of proving that she isn’t just a sad, monotone artist.

However, the controversy surrounding her does not end at the quality of her music but extends to her selfish usage of her private jets. While fast travel isn’t inherently bad, and someone as influential and important as Swift all but requires jet travel, her excessive usage of her private jet is unnecessary and puts excess carbon dioxide into the air. Most notably, Swift went on a 13-minute flight that traversed a distance of 28 miles. For a distance that could easily be covered via tour bus or car in an hour or less, the usage of a private jet is absurd. 

Furthermore, before she quietly downsized to one private jet in February of this year, she flew with two jets everywhere she went, with one jet serving as “backup,” essentially doubling her carbon footprint. In 2022 alone, her private jets emitted a combined 576 times the average American’s yearly carbon dioxide emissions.

Not only has Swift negatively impacted pop culture and the climate, she has also negatively impacted the sports world. In her appearances at NFL football games, it seems she distracts attention from the game. While not necessarily a bad thing, and not necessarily her fault, it does detract from the viewing experience when a pop star is continuously shown on screen while one is trying to focus on the actual football game. During the LVIII Super Bowl, she was shown a total of seven times. While not egregious, it is still about six times too many for any single person who isn’t directly impacting the game to be shown.

Even though Swift has an immense viewership and influences the places she visits and the people who listen to her music, her music does not warrant the amount of fans and general impact she has. Her use of jet travel negatively affects the environment and her appearances during sports games detract from the viewing experience. Her mediocrity is not merely in her discography but also in her impact on the world at large.