“I am deeply over this news cycle,” one told me. “It’s embarrassing at this point, she’s too rich and famous for this.”
In online gathering spaces like Reddit and Twitter, other women are also, cautiously, admitting that they are feeling a bit of Swift fatigue. They joke that they want to “unsubscribe” from Swift news, that they need to “mute” her from their timelines.
“You either die the hero or live long enough to admit that you have Taylor Swift fatigue,” wrote one person on Twitter.
Again, historically, none of this bodes well for Swift. Once the public starts to view a famous woman as “overexposed,” “thirsty,” or “too much,” they usually turn quickly. Just ask Anne Hathaway, or Jennifer Lawrence.
Or, just ask Taylor herself. As those who are fluent in Swiftie lore know, Swift was also very overexposed in 2016 during her “1989 era.” She was doing countless pap walks with the Squad, she was breaking the internet with Hiddleswift, and she was always, constantly, in the news. Then came the Kimye “snake” saga, which led to Swift vanishing from the public eye and then entering her “Reputation era.”
With Swift about to release 1989 (Taylor’s Version), some people have even speculated that Swift is literally recreating the era, forcing the public to start to grow tired of her, spurring backlash that will inevitably lead to an opening for her to release Reputation (Taylor’s Version) (her mind!)
However, since that would be slightly deranged, the more likely answer is that Swift is just enjoying herself right now, and is so famous that everyone talks about her every move. Brands and media companies are incredibly desperate for a viral moment, to be in the zeitgeist, and to get in front of Gen Z’s eyeballs, so when something is proven to get clicks, everyone jumps on it at once. It’s an endless cycle that’s led to a Swift monoculture.
That’s bad news for Swift though, because Americans love nothing more than building a woman up just to tear her down. I worry that there is no way this level of exposure is going to end well for her. One wrong move, or honestly even a Chief’s loss, could lead to a swift (lol) turning of tides. I can already see the sportscasters blaming Swift for “distracting” Kelce from the game, the headlines about how annoying Swift is, and the public adoration curdling into snark.