Taylor Swift says Harvey Weinstein 'picked people who were vulnerable, in his opinion'
Taylor Swift is back in the headlines with a new album, Lover, and a new attitude about dealing with haters and feuds. She’s over it, thank you very much.
In an exclusive interview on Saturday with The Guardian, Swift, who now resides in London with boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn, spills on working with Harvey Weinstein and finding her voice politically.
Swift shared that the disgraced film producer, who is set to go on trial for sexual assault in September, asked her to write a song for the 2013 film One Chance, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Weinstein also attended the launch party for Swift’s album 1989, and gave her a supporting role in 2014 sci-fi flick The Giver.
Swift told The Guardian she “would get a vibe” from Weinstein.
“He’d call my management and be like, ‘Does she have a song for this film?’ And I’d be like, ‘Here it is,’” she said. “And then I’d be at the Golden Globes. I absolutely never hung out. And I would get a vibe – I would never vouch for him. I believe women who come forward, I believe victims who come forward, I believe men who come forward.”
She continued, “If you listen to the stories, he picked people who were vulnerable, in his opinion,” explaining he never propositioned her. “It seemed like it was a power thing. So, to me, that doesn’t say anything – that I wasn’t in that situation.”
The singer also addressed her newfound political voice further, expanding on why she’s jumping in the fray now.
“The things that happen to you in your life are what develop your political opinions. I was living in this Obama eight-year paradise of, you go, you cast your vote, the person you vote for wins, everyone’s happy!” she said. “This whole thing, the last three, four years, it completely blindsided a lot of us, me included.”
She cites her background in country music as one of the reasons she didn’t join other celebrities in speaking out about her politics.
“I come from country music,” she told The Guardian. “The number one thing they absolutely drill into you as a country artist, and you can ask any other country artist this, is ‘Don’t be like the Dixie Chicks!’”
The all-woman country trio famously denounced the Iraq war in 2003, saying they were “ashamed” be from the same state as then President George W. Bush, which led to a boycott from country radio and public condemnation.
“I watched country music snuff that candle out. The most amazing group we had, just because they talked about politics,” said Swift. “And they were getting death threats. They were made such an example that basically every country artist that came after that, every label tells you, ‘Just do not get involved, no matter what.’”
Did she feel upset that her politics – which are pro-choice, pro-women and pro-LGBTQ – weren’t apparent? “I did,” she insisted, “and I hate to admit this, but I felt that I wasn’t educated enough on it. Because I hadn’t actively tried to learn about politics in a way that I felt was necessary for me, making statements that go out to hundreds of millions of people.”
Swift is no longer the ambitious 11-year-old who would sing the national anthem at live sports events, and shared her disillusionment with the U.S..
“The thing I can’t get over right now is gaslighting the American public into being like – ‘If you hate the president, you hate America,’” she told The Guardian. “We’re a democracy – at least, we’re supposed to be – where you’re allowed to disagree, dissent, debate.”
“I really think he thinks this is an autocracy,” she finished, not mentioning the president’s name.
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