I Learned The Hard Way: Don’t Mess With Taylor Swift Fans

I made a few snarky tweets during Taylor Swift's performance on Saturday Night Live in 2021. Taylor Swift fans let me have it.

By the time I woke up Sunday morning, my tweets had been shared a thousand times over, and Swifties had absolutely destroyed my mentions. There were death threats, slurs, and an attempt to hack my Twitter account. No the most pleasant way to spend a quiet Sunday at home! But I have to admit, aside from the really bad stuff, there were also some damn good burns and earnest, astute arguments put forth. I wasn't a fan of the vitriol, but I have to respect the passion and knowledge of Taylor Swift fans.

In the end, I deleted the tweets and locked my account for awhile to avoid another hacking attempt, But first, I took screenshots for posterity. I've shared them below, along with a handful of the more entertaining replies. Because if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at, right? That being said, I don't recommend drawing the ire of Swifties on Twitter. They're a passionate bunch and, aside from maybe K-pop stans, are pretty much the one fan base you don't want to rile up.

Was my critique out of line? Does a middle-aged rock DJ have any business criticizing a pop star? Is a pop star untouchable once they reach a certain level of fame? I don't know. All I know is that I have a newfound appreciation for Taylor Swift and her fans. And if they can take their passion, organize, and apply it to, say, climate justice or racial inequality or the insane price of concert tickets (as I know many of them already have), then they could really make some noise.