AMAs 2018: Taylor Swift again urges fans to vote in the midterms during electric acceptance speech
Taylor Swift backed up her divisive political Instagram post from Sunday night during an acceptance speech at Tuesday night's American Music Awards.
While accepting the award for Artist of the Year, which catapulted Swift to becoming the winningest artist in the history of the AMAs, Swift finished a speech dedicated to her supportive fans by once again urging the public to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
"Every award was voted on by the people," Swift said of the AMAs. "You know what else gets voted on by the people? The midterm elections on November 6. Get out and vote!"
Is it cool that she said all that? Of course it is. @taylorswift13 accepts the award for #AMAs Artist of the Year! ?? #TaylorSwiftAMAspic.twitter.com/EmTzjlB8uH
ā American Music Awards (@AMAs) October 10, 2018
The rare political moment for Swift came after two days after the singer broke her silence on her personal politics on Sunday night with a lengthy Instagram post endorsing a pair of Democratic candidates in Tennessee, where she's registered to vote.
"Iām writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which Iāll be voting in the state of Tennessee," she wrote. "In the past Iāve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now."
"I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country," she went on. "I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent."
After going in-depth about her own personal political beliefs for the first time, Swift then went on to condemn the Trump-backed Marsha Blackburn and reveal who she'll be voting for on November 6.
"I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn," she continued. "Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values."
"I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values," she finished. "For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting!"
Swift opened the 2018 American Music Awards with the first televised performance of "I Did Something Bad."
