In the run up to the 2004 presidential election, a manufactured controversy emerged over Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry’s service in the Vietnam War. The swirl of rumors and rhetoric around his military record was created by a group named Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Officially called Patrol Craft Fast, Kerry won five military awards for his time as commander of a Swift Boat. The term “swiftboating” emerged as a neologism to describe these kinds of dishonest, planned attacks on a person’s reputation.
Ironically enough, her public romance with Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs football team, has brought a slew of unhinged rumors and conspiracy theories surrounding pop music megastar Taylor Swift, in recent months.
Coming from the country music scene, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed powerhouse seemed to offer some hope to the right wing. There was an (understandable?) assumption that she was conservative, but her then apolitical public stance could be used as a fill-in-the-blanks template for whatever you wanted her to believe.
Taylor Swift’s move from country to pop music catapulted her into greater stardom, earning her critical acclaim and a host of dedicated fans — the powerful and feared “Swifties.” As her fame grew, so did her voice and influence. She later expressed regret for not speaking out before the 2016 presidential election, and became more politically involved prior to the 2020 election. Swift posted links encouraging people to register to vote, and a post on Instagram showed her support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris.
The political right wanted her to be on their side, but Taylor Swift didn’t share their values, leading to a sense of betrayal. The anger only increased when her budding romance with Kelce went public. Kelce, you see, had done a commercial for Pfizer, the COVID-19 vaccine-producing pharmaceutical giant. He’s now seen by some as an evil “Deep State” operative, shilling for the “deadly jab.” So, of course, their relationship was orchestrated to propagate some sort of evil agenda.
Swift and Kelce emerged as a power couple — rich, famous and well-loved. Their fairy tale romance is seen by most at face value, but it can seem intrinsically dangerous to the far right. As the political discourse becomes ever more polarized, each side clings to their pop culture icons. Sadly for the right, their icons aren’t very impressive or have long since seen their heyday. Kid Rock v. Taylor Swift isn’t much of a competition.
Now that Kelce’s team is set to square off in the Super Bowl, these conspiracy theories are increasing. Cries that the game will be “rigged” and rumors that Kelce will propose to Taylor Swift are stoking anger, and then there’s the far right’s greatest fear — that Swift will voice her support for President Biden’s reelection during or after the big game.
Mike Rothschild, author of the book Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracies (no relation), has found even darker rumors swirling in the conspiracy theory world.
And it gets even weirder. Some have spread rumors that Taylor Swift is actually the daughter of Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. (Similar rumors have swirled around Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne.)
“QAnon believes in generational evil and bloodlines that rule the world,” says Mike “Poker & Politics” Rains, of the conspiracy theory-critical podcast Adventures in HellwQrld. “Q themselves hinted that [former German Chancellor] Angela Merkle was Hitler’s daughter. Claiming Swift is a clone of Zeena LaVey, or [the] daughter or granddaughter of Anton LaVey, is a way to retell that story and keep it current with today’s headlines.”
Every February, to help celebrate Darwin Day, the Science section of AIPT cranks up the critical thinking for SKEPTICISM MONTH! Skepticism is an approach to evaluating claims that emphasizes evidence and applies the tools of science. All month we’ll be highlighting skepticism in pop culture, and skepticism *OF* pop culture. AIPT Science is co-presented by AIPT and the New York City Skeptics.
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