Threats from Taylor Swift fans caused Paste magazine to pull the name of a writer from a review of the billionaire pop queen’s latest album.
The outlet said they removed the writer’s name from their review of Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department due to “threats of violence” after reviewing one of her previous albums.
“Editor’s Note: There is no byline on this review due to how, in 2019 when Paste reviewed ‘Lover,’ the writer was sent threats of violence from readers who disagreed with the work,” the media outlet wrote on X .
“We care more about the safety of our staff than a name attached to an article.”
The review, credited to “Paste Staff” rather than the actual writer, once again cast a critical eye on Swift, scrutinizing her songwriting prowess on her eleventh studio album.
The anonymous reviewer sharply criticized the Grammy winner’s latest single, “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone.
“Between producer Jack Antonoff’s atrocious backing instrumental and the Y2K-era, teen dramedy echo chamber of a vocal harmony provided by out-of-place guest performer Post Malone, ‘Fortnight’ chokes on the vomit of its own opaqueness,” they wrote.
Indeed, the anonymity seems to inspire the reviewer to slip off their kid gloves. “There is nothing poetic about a billionaire—who, mind you, threatens legal action against a Twitter account for tracking her destructive private jet paths—telling stadiums of thousands of people every night that she sees and adores them,” they write.
At one point, the Paste reviewer notes that Swift’s new album features her “worst lyricism to-date.” They also imply that Taylor’s rabid fanbase might be hurting her output quality. “Swift no longer feels challenged to be good,” they write at one point.
Taylor Swift Fans React to Paste Magazine’s Decision in a Totally Normal, Balanced Way
Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift fans didn’t take Paste’s decision to protect their writer’s identity very well. Swifites flooded the replies to Paste‘s X post about not running the writer’s name.
“Okay ethical question, would you rather threats of violence for everyone on staff or one person,” one completely healthy Swift fan wrote.
Another Swiftie ignored that many of their ilk threatened someone’s life for an opinion. To them, the threats seemed justified in light of the authenticity of the reviews.
“This isn’t an authentic music review. it’s a shady post written by a shade room intern. whoever wrote this is a terrible journalist and should switch to another career,” they insisted.
Other Swift fans thought the writer should simply suck up threats on their life over a review of a pop album.
“Honestly this feels cowardly. Either the author has the courage of their convictions or they don’t. I get it’s a rabid fanbase but it’s hard to take an anonymous slam seriously,” an X denizen wrote.
Some X users did push back against the attacks on Paste, though. “Please be normal. this billionaire you Stan does not know who you are,” one X user pointed out.
However, this writer proudly welcomes our Swiftie overlords. We here at Suggest love their dedication to their idol and their many insights into Taylor’s deep lyrical content and prolific contributions to pop culture and the very fabric of society. We hope to serve this totally not at all toxic or concerning fandom for many years to come.