Free Republic

Billie Eilish’s acceptance speech at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards stayed with the attendees and resonated with the global audience. “I love you all, but there are a few people here with a lot more money than me,” she said. “If you’re a billionaire—why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties,” Billie said. Social media got flooded with one looming question: How Much Has Taylor Swift Donated? Swift reportedly donated about $6.5 million to charity in 2025. The total amount, however, is expected to be much higher as many charities didn’t reveal the exact...

"I figured I’d see what all the hype was about"Mangione, who was arrested in December for allegedly shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of a Manhattan hotel, has turned into somewhat of a cultural phenomenon over the last year, earning himself a large base of fans, some campaigning for his freedom, while others praise his looks. The suspect has spent the last 10 months at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he awaits charges for second-degree murder. He turned 27 in May, and now, a letter that he wrote to an undisclosed recipient reflecting on his birthday...

Prince Harry showed off his take on an American accent during a recent podcast appearance. He said: "This is the most American sentence I could think of: 'I ordered breadsticks with ranch dressing at Applebee's.'" Harry attempted to start, then laughed and asked the host to repeat the sentence. "That was decent," Hasan commended the Prince. After Harry repeated the host’s second line, “Hey, do you like my Cybertruck?”, Hasan turned to people off camera and said: "You guys out there, you cannot laugh like this. We're having a real thing." "No, but by the way, the laughter, it's encouraging....

Not content with dominating the music scene, Taylor Swift is apparently now taking on the art world, with hundreds of her fans making the pilgrimage to a German museum to catch a glimpse of a certain painting. Earlier this month, the Grammy winner released the music video for her latest single The Fate Of Ophelia, the opening shot of which seems to have been inspired by artist Friedrich Heyser’s painting depicting the iconic Shakespearean character. Heyser’s painting now lives in Museum Wiesbaden in Germany, and dedicated Swifties have been paying it a visit in their droves much to the surprise...

The latest exercise in Swiftiana combines bawdiness with a certain impulse toward conservatism, as the singer embraces suburban dreams of marriage and white-picket fences while rhapsodizing about her fiancé’s reproductive organ. In that sense it’s an appropriate text for the Trump era, when coarseness and right-wing politics have been married in a distinctive way

"Taylor Swift is one very canny operator — developing her fan base, working incredibly hard writing some of the most popular pop tunes of the last decade, and cementing a good friendship with the future king Prince William over 10 years ago — a relationship that has culminated in private letters, inspirational cards and good wishes to Princess Catherine during her difficult year," the insider said. In June 2024, William celebrated his 42nd birthday by attending Swift's Eras Tour concert with George and Charlotte at London's Wembley Stadium. Middleton, who was undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer at the time, did...

How does a mere mortal—in this case, an average American girl in a stars-and-stripes dress with a red cardigan—transform into a Beatles-esque global phenom? Taylor Swift was performing from a young age and showed potential for success, surely, but few could have anticipated the unprecedented level of stardom she’d reach. By pairing her talent and artistry with incredible entrepreneurial instincts, Swift is not only building a musical legacy; she has built a reputation for bold, effective fanbase development. Swift’s early success as a teenage country music star was straight out of the entrepreneur’s playbook. She seized an opportunity that other...

If you listened to “Father Figure” and thought it sounded familiar, you’re not crazy. In Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl”, her song “Father Figure” uses bits of George Michael’s 1987 classic of the same name, including the lyrics, “I’ll be your father figure” as well as some of the melody. However, the message Swift sends couldn’t be more different than the one Michael sent. You want a fight, you found it I got the place surrounded You’ll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you’re drowning Whose portrait’s on the mantle? Who covered up your...

Singer and songwriter Taylor Swift released the new album “The Life of a Showgirl” on Friday, which included a song expressing a desire to “settle down” and have children. The new album prompted a wave of pushback from left-leaning women online, including one clip where a woman claimed Swift went on her “boyfriend’s football podcast” to “announce” it and proceeding to lace into the singer for tying herself to Travis Kelce and the National Football League. The Daily Caller’s Natalie Sandoval breaks down the situation for Media Madness. VIDEO AT LINK...............

LEAWOOD, KS — Following the release of her new album, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift reportedly sat down with her fiancé, football star Travis Kelce, to assure him that her hit new song "Dumb Hairy Football Jock" was not about him. "Don't be silly. It's about some... other... dumb hairy football jock," Swift said. "I mean, not other as in, you are also a dumb football jock, just... look, it's not about you, okay?" According to inside sources, Kelce remained unconvinced as the lyrics to the song directly reference a fight they had months ago, and the jock in the song...

Taylor Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl” is barely three days old, and already woke killjoys are tearing it apart, finding offensive lyrics where there are none. Overly online social media critics of Swift apparently instantaneously decided the new album is rife with racism and homophobia, as well as secret messages of support for the patriarchy, eugenics, and Donald Trump. Forensic “investigations” have uncovered “dog-whistles,” but only woke detectives themselves are capable of hearing them. Either Swift is a covert alt-right influencer, or her young critics have been taught to see oppression everywhere, including where it quite clearly...

Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl marks her transition from billionaire mogul to soon-to-be spouse of NFL superstar Travis Kelce. “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?”, for example, is a line from her new song “Cancelled!”. It is an unashamedly conservative-coded record, and not only because she is now approaching matrimony. At the start of her career, Swift’s politics were oblique. But as time went on, she began to repeat the shibboleths that reflected her young, female fanbase. To mark Pride Month 2019, Swift started a petition in support of the Equality Act. In...

As a former so-called Swiftie, it stinks to watch the once-precocious pop star devolve into musical drivel that’s at best banal and at worst agonizing.I didn’t think the bar for Taylor Swift albums could get any lower than “Tortured Poets Department.” Then she released “The Life of a Showgirl,” and I can’t stop cringing.I take no pleasure in hating the new album. I’m not one of those cantankerous Gen Xers who lives to tell the youths that music peaked in the ’80s and that there will never be talent like fill-in-the-blank artist who happened to hit the scene just as...

“On behalf of AMC Theatres and the entire theatrical exhibition industry, I extend our sincerest appreciation to the iconic Taylor Swift for bringing her brilliance and magic to movie theatres this weekend,” AMC’s CEO Adam Aron said in a statement. “Her vision to add a cinematic element to her incredible album debut was nothing less than a triumph.” Her newest theatrical effort, “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” is dancing to the top of box office charts with $33 million over the weekend. The “cinematic experience,” as the project has been dubbed, collected another $13 million at the international...

Swift is “dreamin’ ’bout a driveway with a basketball hoop” on her new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ which dropped Friday… On “Eldest Daughter,” Swift sings of accepting love that she never thought she’d find. “I’m never gonna let you down / I’m never gonna leave you out / So many traitors / Smooth operators / I’m never gonna break that vow…” “When I said I don’t believe in marriage / That was a lie / Every eldest daughter / Was the first lamb to the slaughter / so we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire…”...

11 Colorado stores will stay open for Taylor Swift’s midnight album release by: Heather Willard Posted: Oct 2, 2025 DENVER (KDVR) — All the world’s a stage, and Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” is releasing at midnight Friday in select stores. The hype around Swift’s new album has grown to “new heights,” especially after she announced her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on his podcast New Heights. This is Swift’s 12th studio album, coming after her massively popular Eras Tour swept the globe, and her show in Denver was so large it could be...

Spanish-language pop star and Trump critic Bad Bunny celebrated his selection as the Super Bowl halftime act by calling it a victory for 'my people, my culture, and our history' amid massive blowback from MAGA world. The NFL surprised many by announcing Sunday night that the Puerto Rican musician was chosen to headline the highly-anticipated Super Bowl halftime show in California next February. Bad Bunny — who sings all his songs in Spanish — has been critical of President Trump's immigration policies and recently admitted he refused to tour in the US over concerns that his fans would be targeted...

If we see Taylor Swift at Super Bowl LX, it won't be onstage. She'll be in a suite, drink in hand, like she usually is. According to multiple reports, the world’s biggest pop star has walked away from an offer to headline the NFL’s biggest game after negotiations with the league broke down. She had some requests, and the NFL reportedly refused to budge. "She wasn’t asking for favors, she was asking for respect," one anonymous music executive told British pop culture journalist Rob Shuter, who first broke the story on his "Naughty But Nice" Substack. "Taylor knows her worth....

The death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has reignited heated debates after his controversial remarks about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce resurfaced online. Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, tragically passed away at age 31 on September 10, 2025, after being shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University. However, it’s his relationship advice to the global pop icon that is now making waves across social media. Charlie Kirk’s remarks drew sharp criticism for being misogynistic During an August 26 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, Kirk addressed Taylor Swift’s recent engagement to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce....

Taylor Swift’s $17 million Rhode Island mansion isn’t just a star-studded backdrop anymore—it’s ground zero for a growing tax revolt aimed at the wealthy. Starting next summer, the state will slap a new surcharge on vacation homes worth $1 million or more, a move already dubbed the “Taylor Swift Tax.” The goal: Make deep-pocketed second-home owners pay more, and set the stage for a wave of similar crackdowns from Montana’s mountains to Connecticut’s suburbs. And yet, at the very top of the market, wealthy buyers are still scooping up real estate. As of April 2025, the $1 million-plus category has...