Selena Gomez And Taylor Swift Come Together To Make Rare Political Statement Supporting ‘March For Our Lives’
Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift rarely get political, but the upcoming demonstrations in favor of gun control have apparently changed that.
On the eve of the nationwide March for Our Lives, both singers posted messages to their respective Instagram pages showing support for the movement, which grew out of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. As Elle noted, both Gomez and Swift shared a post about the event within an hour of each other.
Taylor Swift included a statement making reference to recent mass shootings, including one that took place in a Texas church as well as the recent school shootings. She disabled comments on the post, which has generated close to 500,000 likes in just a little more than two hours since she posted it.
“No one should have to go to school in fear of gun violence,” Taylor Swift wrote. “Or to a nightclub. Or to a concert. Or to a movie theater. Or to their place of worship. I’ve made a donation to show my support for the students, for the March For Our Lives campaign, for everyone affected by these tragedies, and to support gun reform. I’m so moved by the Parkland High School students, faculty, by all families and friends of victims who have spoken out, trying to prevent this from happening again.”
Until the post, Taylor Swift had only rarely delved into political statements, and even then revealed little about her political leanings. This led to rumors in 2016 that Swift was a supporter of Donald Trump — she never revealed whom she supported — and even prompted some fans to take on a campaign calling on Swift to publicly denounce the president. As Politico noted, some saw Swift as an outsider if she failed to reveal her political leanings.
“It’s almost like a knee-jerk thing,” Shaun Cullen, a professor of contemporary culture and popular music at Middle Tennessee State University, told the outlet. “You’re supposed to signify your solidarity or opposition to whatever Trump is doing if you’re in that tribe or to criticize the liberal media if you’re in the other tribe.”
For her part, Taylor Swift insisted that she wanted to keep her focus on music, and has never publicly revealed her political leanings.
On Instagram, Taylor Swift says she’s made a donation to March For Our Lives. pic.twitter.com/8OtPT9FKI4
— Yashar Ali ? ????? (@yashar) March 23, 2018
Selena Gomez has been a bit more open about her political leanings, Elle noted, wearing a “Nasty Woman” jacket in a nod to Hillary Clinton.
The March for Our Lives has drawn widespread support, with more than 800 different events planned across the world and hundreds of thousands expected to descend onto Washington, D.C., for the largest demonstration. It was not clear if either Selena Gomez or Taylor Swift actually planned to attend any of the events.
