Extremism of any kind is very scary. Case in point: Taylor Swift stans.
Now unless you’ve been living without an internet connection for the last few days, you’ll know that T-Swizzle just surprise-dropped her eighth studio album Folklore on our butts. It’s the pop icon’s first album to be classified as “alternative” and it’s already broken a whole bunch of streaming records.
And despite the LP also getting rave reviews across music land, a handful of diehard Swifties have taken it upon themselves to start sending death threats to reviewers who’ve dared to suggest Folklore is anything less than a masterpiece of flawless perfection.
Take Pitchfork senior editor Jill Mapes for example, who gave the album a high-scoring 8/10 .
Despite a largely glowing review, Mapes’ critiqued that the LP “could use some selective pruning” and argued that “[Swift’s] reference points feel more like mainstream ‘indie’ homage than innovation, taking cues from her collaborators’ work and bits of nostalgia”.
This did not sit well with some Swifties, with Mapes receiving death threats both on- and offline, including late night phone calls to her mobile, prompting her to switch her Twitter account to “private”.
This is the person's @ who gave it 8.0 >> @jumonsmapes she literally went private cause you know her clown act is over and she needs her beauty sleep. https://t.co/3Zy1Pm6oYI
— celina kyle LIKE limit (@celinakyle139) July 27, 2020
https://twitter.com/noyokono/status/1287732820719423488
While New York Times pop critic Jon Caramanica also received similar treatment after his critique, which suggested “The desolate, stubborn, overcomposed indie rock of Folklore… is a tough thicket to tame… Sometimes [Swift] triumphs, wrestling it until it’s slack. But when it stifles her, it deserves all the eye rolls it gets.”
“If the Metacritic score falls, you’ll be dealt with,” one stan tweeted in response to the article.
“I know your address. Lemme plan smthn,” tweeted another.
Funny how you start by attacking her personality than actually reviewing her album as a professional must do. But, I shouldn't expect anything when it's clearly biased and comes from a place of hatred.
PA: if the Metacritic score falls, you'll be dealt with. pic.twitter.com/tPUMTT1l1z— Vansh⁷♀️ | BE.T.S. (@Daylighttingz) July 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/f0lkI0re/status/1287445086335361026
Like we said. Scary.
