Taylor Swift's note to Dave Portnoy draws backlash from followers
The Venn Diagram of Taylor Swift fans and Barstool Sports loyalists should, in theory, overlap little.
Swift is an outspoken advocate of feminism and female equality. She is a sexual assault victim who has supported the defense of other victims through her stated donations to advocacy organizations. She has featured transgender and lesbian performers in music videos, making her a popular figure in the gay community.
Portnoy is none of those things.
The founder and current owner of Barstool Sports has been known to use misogynistic language, mock women’s appearances, and promote a “boys will be boys” mentality that resonates with Barstool's largely young, male audience. Portnoy was once accused by multiple women of subjecting them to "violent and humiliating” sex.
While Barstool has used sports as a vehicle for rebuking political correctness in media, Swift has cut a much cleaner image that practically reset the definition of "clean" for 21st-century American entertainment. She even has a song called "Clean."
Against this backdrop, Swift hand-delivered a note to Portnoy at one of her shows over the weekend that befuddled her followers.
Taylor Swift is thanking Dave Portnoy for having her back. pic.twitter.com/nauto2E4ii
— Access Hollywood (@accesshollywood) October 21, 2024
The handwritten note read: "Dave, I'm so happy to have you at the show tonight! I wanted to say thank you for always being so supportive, so loyal, and for having my back when a lot of people didn't. I hope you have a blast tonight!! Love, Taylor"
The negative reactions to the note were, shall we say, swift:
Taylor doing this for misogynist Dave Portnoy is a bad decision and shows how backwards Taylor’s 13 Management team still is, especially considering she is very strategic about any time she speaks. https://t.co/FwDlvL7Ni4
— Rob's crow (@kswiftthegreat) October 21, 2024
It's almost comforting to know that in an ever-changing world one thing will remain constant: Taylor Swift's brand of "feminism" will always disappoint me. https://t.co/Pt2dHTMvEK
— Olivia Truffaut-Wong (@iWatchiAm) October 21, 2024
. @taylorswift13 writing a letter thanking Dave Portnoy- a man who has been accused of violent sexual abuse by multiple women - for being “loyal” and “having her back.” I guess her “believing victims” era was exactly that, a fucking ERA. https://t.co/35JWB4vuxF pic.twitter.com/Veh07Otem1
— 🍭 (@tiredasslesbian) October 21, 2024
taylor apparently wrote dave portnoy a letter and woah, i never thought i’d see such a huge swing and miss from her. like? what is the thinking here???? pic.twitter.com/Zki0tjR3ox
— dr georgie carroll (@fansumption) October 20, 2024
Whether Swift was unaware of Portnoy's anti-feminist reputation, or simply didn't care, is unclear. If her handlers don't fill her in, perhaps her boyfriend will. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has given interviews on the Barstool platform before.
Barstool has also openly dissed Kelce for everything from his play on the field to his outfits off it, so perhaps intellectual consistency is not the tie that binds Tayvis.
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