Taylor Swift Issues Defamation Threat Against Blogger Who Demanded She Denounce White Supremacy

[Aselith]

This "lawsuit" is bullshit right? Hope this blows up in her face big time

Click to shrink...

Hard to say but I think it has some merit. Defamation is making claims that you know are false in order to damage someone' s reputation. So if the blogger doctored up some "evidence" to support the claims specifically in order to create the necessity for denial or something like that? I think it really depends on the claims and how they are presented. Maybe?

 

[excelsiorlef]

There's a difference between writing an article aksing Taylor to denounce white supremacy and writing an article accusing Taylor of including pro neo-nazi iconography in her music and vidoes

 

[Nocchi]

I...did not know she might have been like this...

I might have to toss the stupid vinyl I have of hers.

 

[LGHT_TRSN]

Where is the evidence that this is even a real thing? All google searches come back with articles referencing the daily stormer, which both doesn't exist anymore and was full of a bunch of memes and other BS trolling crap. Considering Taylor's team went after the original memes that the daily stormer also apparently posted, it seems safe to assume if they knew of the existence of what the daily stormer posted, they'd have sent them letters too.

Click to shrink...

Without actual existing within the alt-right community I'm not sure how we can say that it's a "real thing" or not considering they make stupid meme shit about stuff they actually believe or claim they don't actually believe but do just to piss people off.

Regardless, I'm seeing numerous articles dating back to last year about the Daily Stormer, memes and FB groups touting her as some white supremacist goddess. It seems like it was/is a large enough thing that at the very least her publicists would've heard about it. Apparently people have been asking for her to condemn the Nazi's for some time now and she still hasn't. It's just weird and doesn't make her look good at all, and this is coming from someone who doesn't give a shit about Taylor Swift one way or another.

 

[MisterR]

You shouldn't have to come out with a statement every time a random blogger asks you to, but just ignore it, not get lawyers involved.

 

[kristoffer]

Hard to say but I think it has some merit. Defamation is making claims that you know are false in order to damage someone' s reputation. So if the blogger doctored up some "evidence" to support the claims specifically in order to create the necessity for denial or something like that? I think it really depends on the claims and how they are presented. Maybe?

Click to shrink...

That's what I'm thinking. The ACLU is on the blogger's side.

it's really weird that I'm sitting here drinking coffee reading about how a small time leftist activist blog is being sued by Taylor Swift for defamation over claims of Nazi iconography and the ACLU is now involved but stranger things have happened

 

[MisterR]

Hard to say but I think it has some merit. Defamation is making claims that you know are false in order to damage someone' s reputation. So if the blogger doctored up some "evidence" to support the claims specifically in order to create the necessity for denial or something like that? I think it really depends on the claims and how they are presented. Maybe?

Click to shrink...

Defamation is extremely hard to win in the US. You even have to prove malicious intent.

 

[Conkerkid11]

The title of this thread seems rather problematic.

The blog post isn't just asking her to denounce white surpremacy. It looks like it's an analyzation of her work, suggesting that she's a white supremacist because of symbolism in her music videos and whatnot.

If it was a request made out of left field, sure, don't acknowledge it, or just say, "no, you're wrong, I'm not a white supremacist." But that's not what this is, and the author of the article is garbage. She could ignore it, or do what she's doing here. Acknowledging it with, "no, I'm not a white supremacist" doesn't seem like the type of response a troll like this deserves.

Looks like a lot of people in this thread just really want to hate a pop star.

There's a difference between writing an article aksing Taylor to denounce white supremacy and writing an article accusing Taylor of including pro neo-nazi iconography in her music and vidoes

Click to shrink...

.

 

[just_myles]

Things the lawyers are right about: Her actions don't necessarily constitute endorsement of white supremacy.
Things the lawyers are wrong about: Taylor Swift not being a white supremacist figurehead.

Overall the things listed in the letter seem like a mix of reasonable statements and statements that go a bit far. She's not really under any obligation to address it. But if people were holding me up as their Aryan queen I'd probably say something about it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah kind of a no brainer on that last one. So weird.

 

[V-Faction]

Don't worry Taylor, sake eit hoff, sake eit hoff.

 

[The Adder]

Do people in this thread not understand what happened here? This blogger linked her to Nazi's based on literally nothing. Why is she required to concede to whoever this person is? Alluding to her being an aryan queen or whatever with no basis in reality is the deinition of defamation. She's in the right here and people lying on the internet to create an image of her being a Nazi can get fucked. Dislike her all you want but stop making shit up.

Click to shrink...

You are the one who does not know what happened here:

White Supremacists espouse Taylor Swift as one of their own.

Swift says nothing.

Columnist writes about the fact that Swift is being consider sympathetic to white supremacists in their circles and says she should denounced them.

Swift could have:

Ignored this nobody

Denounced nazis

Sued the nazis who say she's one of them.

She chose none of these, instead suing the person saying she should denounce white supremacy.

She is most certainly not in the right.

 

[Aselith]

Defamation is extremely hard to win in the US. You even have to prove malicious intent.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, so I've read. I definitely don't think this is a slam dunk. But considering the accusation, If they can prove that the blogger was trying to create an association with white supremacy I don't see how you could interpret that as anything other than malice.

 

[MBeanie]

Taylor could have...

a) Addressed the blog post and the points made because it goes into lengthy details, to clear up any of the misunderstandings had..

b) Simply ignored it (though thats not my ideal choice).

c) Denounced the Alt-Right, Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists & the KKK

d) A combination of a) & c)

But she chose...

e) Sueing the blogger

Whether or not, she's sympathetic to the white supremacist movement, this easily preventable mess is entirely her making.

 

[MANUELF]

I Guess she is just tired of everyone wanting her to be a Social Justice Warrior

 

[Sly Chimera]

Defamation is extremely hard to win in the US. You even have to prove malicious intent.

Click to shrink...

Just for public figures but that would be the standard in this case.

 

[Shadowrun]

Defamation is extremely hard to win in the US. You even have to prove malicious intent.

Click to shrink...

Indeed, and if you look at the blogger's article, it's written like a long-form art critique/opinion. They source a lot of other major articles, and talk at great length about the history of the iconography and such. Large swaths are not even about Swift per se. It's a far cry from what one would consider an "attack" piece with malicious intent. That's likely why the ACLU sided with the blogger, and it sounds like an easy case for them. Perhaps, Swift's legal team just thought they could scare the blogger into taking it down.

 

[Chumley]

You are the one who does not know what happened here:

White Supremacists espouse Taylor Swift as one of their own.

Swift says nothing.

Columnist writes about the fact that Swift is being consider sympathetic to white supremacists in their circles and says she should denounced them.

Swift could have:

Ignored this nobody

Denounced nazis

Sued the nazis who say she's one of them.

She chose none of these, instead suing the person saying she should denounce white supremacy.

She is most certainly not in the right.

Click to shrink...

The columnist accuses her of using Nazi iconography. I'm missing why she's supposed to let bullshit like that slide.

 

[Vectorman]

Perhaps, Swift's legal team just thought they could scare the blogger into taking it down.

Click to shrink...

The columnist accuses her of using Nazi iconography. I'm missing why she's supposed to let bullshit like that slide.

Click to shrink...

What's worse for your image? Ignoring the cries from liberal bloggers (not even like a big time blogger or publications where many eyes can see and share it) which makes a small crowd think you might sympathize with bad folks or your legal team and you being spotlighted by bigger publications and being possibly viewed as petty/overreactive by a whole lot of people?

 

[The Adder]

The columnist accuses her of using Nazi iconography. I'm missing why she's supposed to let bullshit like that slide.

Click to shrink...

Using Nazi iconography is not an accusation of being a Nazi. The columnist sources their assertions. It's entirely possible to use iconography without knowing its meaning. Moreover, she was perfectly fine ignoring the Nazis who say it was intentional.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

taylor being the absolute worst? shocking

 

[Chumley]

Using Nazi iconography is not an accusation of being a Nazi. The columnist sources their assertions. It's entirely possible to use iconography without knowing its meaning. Moreover, she was perfectly fine ignoring the Nazis who say it was intentional.

Click to shrink...

Don't be intellectually dishonest. The columnist is clearly trying to paint her as a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer. Your argument is the equivalent of the "I'm just asking questions" defense. The guy cooked up this shit to get a response from her and convince as many people as he could that she's a Nazi.

 

[woman]

I Guess she is just tired of everyone wanting her to be a Social Justice Warrior

Click to shrink...

Denouncing white supremacists and nazis makes you an SJW now huh

 

[eZn]

Good on Taylor. Give these misogynistic bigots hell.

 

[MANUELF]

Denouncing white supremacists and nazis makes you an SJW now huh

Click to shrink...

Thats not the only thing she has been asked about, every single thing that happens she is asked to talk about, shootings, Trump, BLM movement, etc

 

[AoM]

Later in the song, there is another telling line: "I don't like your kingdom keys. They once belonged to me. You asked me for a place to sleep. Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)." These lyrics are the most explicit in speaking to white anger and affirming white supremacy. The lyrics speak to the white people resentful of any non-white person having a position of power and privilege. Think of Barack Obama: the fears of white dispossession of power were actualized in his success, which was a huge factor in the appeal of candidate Trump. He is a patriarchal, rich white man that embodied the anger and white supremacist ideology.

Click to shrink...

This is what we call a gigantic leap.

 

[Deleted member 5260]

I do my best to avoid all Nazi / alt-right hangouts, but I'd imagine whatever love they had for her initially has increased tenfold with this news.

After pussy grabber's post-Charlottesville "all sides" statement, the nazis we're dropping comments off everywhere along the lines of "See! He does love us!"

On a side note, I refuse to believe that any more than 10% of these alt-right morons have jobs. Aside from being held back by their obvious inability to perceive their surroundings rationally, it seems that all they do is post comments on YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, etc all day. How would they have time for a job?

 

[Deleted member 4461]

I activate my trap card, Streisand Effect!

 

[eKongDiddy]

She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to. Outrage Culture should get out of the mindset that everyone should do as hey say or they get condemned.

 

[The Adder]

Don't be intellectually dishonest. The columnist is clearly trying to paint her as a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer. Your argument is the equivalent of the "I'm just asking questions" defense. The guy cooked up this shit to get a response from her and convince as many people as he could that she's a Nazi.

Click to shrink...

How many academic analyses have you read? Because that's the tone of the article. The writer doesn't assert Swift's meaning, they discuss what white suprmacists are finding and connecting to in the song.

Don't talk to me about intellectually dishonest when you're sitting here ignoring the fact that she hasn't gone after the people actually saying she's a white supremacist.

 

[Deleted member 25600]

Is all of 4chan Nazi-infested or just pol?

Click to shrink...

Depends on the board, I think. I think /x/ may have a lot of bleed over from /pol/ and /sp/ is apparently pretty questionable. /int/ is often pretty racist. /v/ seems to be a mix. Most of it is shit talking video games, but often someone will make a thread with clearly racist or sexist overtones and they'll quickly be told to go back to /pol/ and then an argument will ensue where the OP pretends their intentions were completely innocent.

 

[WhateverItTakes]

Well she's definitely gonna have to denounce white supremecy now so the author won.

 

[Timeaisis]

EDIT: wrong thread.

 

[Jeffolation]

If you're white and your head is screwed on properly it shouldn't take any prompting to denounce white nationalism/supremacy. Then it's out there and on the record and you're good.

Or you can fuck around and beat around the bush and you'll raise some heads. it's a pretty weird path to take with someone who has such a huge following and who's statements or lack there of on issues of the day just come off as not even ignorance, it smacks of cowardice. It's strange and if she isn't some secret nazi she's going to have to speak on this at some point soon.

 

[legend166]

It's pretty funny just how many of these posts could be taken verbatim from some imaginary 1950s message board if you just replaced Nazism with Communism.

"McCarthy just wants to get the truth man! How hard is it to say you don't support Communism?!"

 

[pigeon]

Thats not the only thing she has been asked about, every single thing that happens she is asked to talk about, shootings, Trump, BLM movement, etc

Click to shrink...

If Taylor Swift doesn't want to be a public figure any more, she knows where the door is.

 

[Chris McQueen]

Thats not the only thing she has been asked about, every single thing that happens she is asked to talk about, shootings, Trump, BLM movement, etc

Click to shrink...

Oh, I feel so terrible for her...

 

[Chamomile]

Thats not the only thing she has been asked about, every single thing that happens she is asked to talk about, shootings, Trump, BLM movement, etc

Click to shrink...

To be fair, Taylor is always asked those questions because she's not vocal about her political leanings whatosever. Sure, you might say that people should divorce an artist's opinions from their actual work, but that ignores the history of popular music being used as expressions of rebellion against dominant structures. Other pop stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, etc. are all very vocal about their politics, which Taylor is not.

 

[Jinfash]

Can't wait to hear about this on the next episode of The Read lol.

 

[Chamomile]

Can't wait to hear about this on the next episode of The Read lol.

Click to shrink...

They hate her so expect a thorough dewigging.

 

[Deleted member 15326]

It's pretty funny just how many of these posts could be taken verbatim from some imaginary 1950s message board if you just replaced Nazism with Communism.

"McCarthy just wants to get the truth man! How hard is it to say you don't support Communism?!"

Click to shrink...

I guess, if you ignore context and history completely

 

[feyder]

...this isn't even funny anymore lol

It's always been obvious that she's a narcissistic, vicious, vile viper disguising as a sweet angel, but suing someone for asking you to denounce racists? LOL what is she thinking?

She's literally the real life version of Dahlia Hawthorne.

 

[Daphne]

If Swift felt the need to respond, she could have just released a generic statement condemning racism and Nazism. Why is that difficult? This type of response just makes me suspect there is something wrong with her, quite frankly.

 

[Shadowrun]

Don't be intellectually dishonest. The columnist is clearly trying to paint her as a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer. Your argument is the equivalent of the "I'm just asking questions" defense. The guy cooked up this shit to get a response from her and convince as many people as he could that she's a Nazi.

Click to shrink...

Good on Taylor. Give these misogynistic bigots hell.

Click to shrink...

Um, the blogger is a woman. If you're unable to clean that information from the OP, I'm not sure how anyone can trust your "analysis" of the blogger's intent.

 

[Prodigal Son]

She really shouldn't be kicking down at some random dogshit blogger, regardless of how outrageously delusional what they say is. Looks really petty.

That said, lol at people who are so deep up the ass of witchhunt, outrage culture they think Taylor fucking Swift is a nazi-sympathizer. We live in odd times.

 

[Vish]

Don't people know that Swift is nothing but a walking corporation by now? But this is a fuckup.

 

[ElBoxy]

The title of this thread seems rather problematic.

The blog post isn't just asking her to denounce white surpremacy. It looks like it's an analyzation of her work, suggesting that she's a white supremacist because of symbolism in her music videos and whatnot.

If it was a request made out of left field, sure, don't acknowledge it, or just say, "no, you're wrong, I'm not a white supremacist." But that's not what this is, and the author of the article is garbage. She could ignore it, or do what she's doing here. Acknowledging it with, "no, I'm not a white supremacist" doesn't seem like the type of response a troll like this deserves.

Looks like a lot of people in this thread just really want to hate a pop star.


.

Click to shrink...

She could have denounced white supremacy and still sued the person claiming she stood for it. She could have it both ways.

 

[Dr. Caroll]

To be fair, Taylor is always asked those questions because she's not vocal about her political leanings whatosever. Sure, you might say that people should divorce an artist's opinions from their actual work, but that ignores the history of popular music being used as expressions of rebellion against dominant structures. Other pop stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, etc. are all very vocal about their politics, which Taylor is not.

Click to shrink...

Elvis refusing to answer questions about politics was one of the qualities that endeared him to people. "I'm just an entertainer," is an iconic phrase. The perception that someone is exploiting their fame to push a political agenda always leads to bad blood.



I guess in a sense whether you were pro-Vietnam war or anti-Vietnam war, you could be united by Elvis' music or something like that.

 

[Volimar]

She could have denounced white supremacy and still sued the person claiming she stood for it. She could have it both ways.

Click to shrink...

Maybe she will. We don't know if she even knows about this blogger or the defamation threat.

 

[Chamomile]

She really shouldn't be kicking down at some random dogshit blogger, regardless of how outrageously delusional what they say is. Looks really petty.

That said, lol at people who are so deep up the ass of witchhunt, outrage culture they think Taylor fucking Swift is a nazi-sympathizer. We live in odd times.

Click to shrink...

Painting Swift as a Nazi-sympathizer is missing the mark and is definitely headed towards full on hyperbole. But, we also need to make it clear that she is neither vocal about the types of political opinions she holds nor is she willing to clarify anything relating to her possibly alienating a marginalized subset of her audience. I think most of the disappointment of Swift's detractors stems from this: she can easily clarify and uphold beliefs that empower her marginalized audiences, but she opts to keep her image non-controversial. With this comes people criticizing her for keeping the status quo, rather than doing anything to help deconstruct it.

Therefore, Swift, as a benefactor of White privilege, should do more to uplift her marginalized fans rather than stay silent.

 

[xbhaskarx]

Denouncing white supremacists and nazis makes you an SJW now huh

Click to shrink...

Apparently.