Swifties will go to the ends of the earth to defend their queen — and one magazine got ahead of backlash with a peculiar preventative move!
On Friday, Taylor Swift dropped her new album The Tortured Poets Department, and while fans have been feasting, critics haven’t exactly all been in agreement over its quality. In particular, Paste Magazine delivered a scathing review of the double record on Friday, claiming Taylor “can’t help but infantilize the very people who buy into her music,” and that it’ll “set the art of poetry back another decade” — among many other savage takes.
YIKES.
But the outlet got ahead of any targeted backlash by making the decision to REMOVE their writer’s name from the review’s byline!!!
Related: Matty Healy’s Aunt Suggests Taylor Left Out Details Of Romance In TTPD!
When the magazine published their review on X (Twitter) on Friday, they addressed their decision to exclude the writer’s name, citing a 2019 incident with another T-Swizzle review:
“Editor’s Note: There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed ‘Lover,’ the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work.”
Sheesh! That’s scary! We’re all for being a dedicated fan, but threatening violence because you disagree with someone’s take is completely over the line!
The magazine added:
“We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.”
Not a bad decision in retrospect considering the nature of their review… See (below):
Editor’s Note: There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed ‘Lover,’ the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work. We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.
— Paste Magazine (@PasteMagazine) April 19, 2024
What are your thoughts on this, Perezcious readers?? Was this a smart move? Let us know down in the comments!
[Images via Disney Plus & Taylor Swift/YouTube]