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I’ve been trying to put my finger on the Taylor Swift phenomenon for some time now. Evidently people pay obscene amounts of money to see her, and she is breaking world records on her latest tour. By all accounts (well, not quite all) it’s worth seeing, as Miss Swift parades out on the stage in outfit after outfit and dazzles swarms of people with a show like Superbowl halftime on crack.What’s going on here really, though?

Taylor Swift is already making a major mark in Brazil. One day before the 33-year-old singer is set to start her three-night stint at Rio De Janeiro's Estádio Nilton Santos as part of her Eras Tour, her famous "Junior Jewels" T-shirt was projected onto the Christ the Redeemer statue. The T-shirt became a popular recreation for fans after Swift wore it in her music video for "You Belong With Me," which appeared on her album, Fearless. The album was released in 2008, and Swift put out her version of it in 2021. While the shirt reads "Junior Jewels" in the...

A security guard who protected Taylor Swift during her Eras Tour this summer is now back home in Israel to fight for his country against Hamas. Variety has confirmed that the security guard, who wishes to keep his name anonymous, made the choice to leave the United States to join the IDF reserves as he saw the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israeli citizens. Eran Swisa, an Israeli journalist from “Israel Today,” broke the news that the security guard who worked with Swift had left America to fight in the IDF. Swisa tells Variety that he was born at a...

During an impassioned segment on MSNBC, Donny Deutsch slammed Hollywood and corporate America for their silence amid Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel. “I don’t understand the silence from Hollywood. I don’t understand the silence from corporate America. I don’t understand the silence from the academics. And I don’t understand the silence from so many politicians,” Deutsch said, speaking with anchor Nicolle Wallace. Deutsch, who is Jewish, was previously a host on MSNBC and CNBC. The television personality and political analyst now hosts the podcast “On Brand With Donny Deutsch.” “There is not context here. This is about the slaughtering of...

Aaron Rodgers is now the one doling out the shots. The injured Jets quarterback, in attendance at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night to watch the Jets host the Chiefs, poked fun at Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, the star of recent ads for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The star pass catcher and rumored boyfriend of Taylor Swift was held to just six receptions and 60 yards on the night as the Jets limited his effectiveness, in Rodgers’ eyes. “Mr. Pfizer, we kinda shut him down a little bit,” Rodgers said Tuesday on the “Pat McAfee Show.” He didn’t have his...

There was a recent article from Newsweek that caught my eye. Entitled “Why Republicans’ War Against Taylor Swift Could Backfire,” it delves into an X (formerly Twitter) spat between The Federalist’s Sean Davis and left-wing activist Victor Shi. In response to an excellent piece by Mark Hemingway detailing the shallowness and vapidity, both technically and spiritually, of Swift’s music, Davis quipped, “Taylor Swift is dumb and her music sucks.” In response, Shi wrote, “Nothing says more about how little Republicans understand Gen Z than them now saying Taylor Swift is “dumb & her music sucks” after she registered more than...

Former President Donald Trump has weighed in on the new relationship between pop music icon Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, indicating whether he thinks the romance will last. In an interview with the Daily Caller, Trump said, "I wish the best for both of them. I hope they enjoy their life, maybe together, maybe not — most likely not." The former president’s comments come in the middle of a media frenzy over the alleged romance between the world’s most famous musician and one of the NFL’s biggest stars.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s lieutenant governor and other elected officials on Tuesday urged Taylor Swift to postpone her Los Angeles concerts as a way to stand in solidarity with striking hotel workers. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and dozens of state and local politicians signed an open letter telling Swift that her tour makes the region’s hotels money, with some properties “doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming.” Meanwhile, the letter said, many housekeepers and other hotel workers can’t afford to live close to their jobs and some sleep in their cars and risk losing their homes....

Taylor Swift, an apparent strong believer in Trickle-down economics, is reportedly giving six-figure bonuses to all of the truckers carrying her equipment around the country for her Eras Tour. TMZ reports that each trucker was given a $100,000 bonus check after her show last Saturday in Santa Clara, California. Around 50 truckers received the bonus, which works out to about $5 million in money from Swift. That may sound like a lot – and it is – but please keep this in mind: TMZ says the nationwide tour has made over $1 billion in sales. It could end up being...

After two nights of earth-shaking dancing at Swift’s Seattle “Eras” tour concert at Lumen Field, enthusiastic Swifties caused seismic activity equivalent of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, according to seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach. The “Swift Quake” has been compared to the 2011 “Beast Quake,” when Seattle Seahawks fans erupted after an impressive touchdown by running back Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch. The ensuing celebration was detected on the same local seismometer as the Swift concert, Caplan-Auerbach told CNN. Caplan-Auerbach, who works as a geology professor at Western Washington University, saw the comparison in a Pacific Northwest earthquake group she moderates on Facebook and...

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the biggest thing on the planet right now if you read the reviews and hype surrounding the tour. Chaos takes over in cities when the tour rolls in and fans come from far and wide to see the show. Local economies see an instant boost thanks to ‘Swifties’ spending money like there is no tomorrow.The Philadelphia Federal Reserve has noticed and has concluded that Taylor Swift’s concerts and her fans are single-handedly rescuing the hotel industry. Hotel revenues are their highest since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. No pressure, Taylor.The Philadelphia Federal...

The Iron City Beer sign in Pittsburgh is as iconic as the beer itself. But one fan of the beer and Taylor Swift is trying to get the company to temporarily change the name this weekend to “Swift City Beer.” Kevin Leonard posted a petition on Change.org on Sunday, June 11. Swift will perform at Acrisure Stadium on Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17. Leonard wrote, “Iron City Beer has been a staple in the Pittsburgh community for over 150 years. However, as we approach the upcoming Taylor Swift concert on June 16-17, it is time for a change.

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Tiernán Heffron said, ‘No musician should EVER have to deal with something traumatic like this happening’The PSNI has said a woman who threw a pint glass at a musician as he performed in a Belfast city centre bar has been issued with a community resolution notice. Tiernán Heffron shared a post on Facebook explaining that as he was setting up for a gig in a bar on Friday night someone threw a pint glass at his face. A guitar he purchased thanks to a “kind gift” given to him by Taylor Swift was also destroyed during the alleged attack. He...

Ticketmaster defended itself publicly for the first time since the concert promoter's highly publicized meltdown late last year during ticket sales for Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour.

The lovely and prolific Taylor Swift announced a concert tour. So far, so good. Happens every day. Ticketmaster opened up the ticket sales process, and sold 2 million tickets while fielding 3.5 billion requests – yes, 3.5 billion – before server crashes and other problems caused them to suspend sales. Taylor Swift is furious. Millions of fans are frustrated. Live Nation the parent of Ticketmaster, is embarrassed. And politicians – ranging from communist US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to conservative US Senator Mike Lee – are all demanding hearings. It’s easy to kid about the disproportionate attention this is getting in...

Some of Taylor Swift’s fans want you to know three things: They’re not still 16, they have careers and resources and, right now, they’re angry. That’s a powerful political motivator, researchers say. Look what Ticketmaster made them do. It started Nov. 15, when millions crowded a presale for Swift’s long-awaited Eras Tour, resulting in crashes, prolonged waits and frantic purchases. By Thursday, Ticketmaster had canceled the general sale, citing insufficient remaining tickets and inciting a firestorm of outrage from fans. Swift herself said the ordeal “really pisses me off.” Ticketmaster apologized but the bad blood had already been sowed. And...

Swift has had a direct impact on cutting scalpers out of ticket sales, driving more money to artists. Fans waiting to buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour next week should expect two things: high demand and high prices. After all, it’s been five years and four albums since Swift toured, with her newest album, Midnights, on track to be the best-selling record of the year — earning Swift the title of first artist to ever have 10 songs dominate the top 10 of the Hot 100 chart. That popularity means that Swift can set high prices for her tickets...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday she would call a Senate hearing to probe Ticketmaster after the Taylor Swift ticket fiasco this week left many fans frustrated and empty handed. This comes as the company canceled the general public sale of tickets originally scheduled for Friday "due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand." Swift fans sought tickets earlier this week with pre-sale codes and credit card exclusives, a rollout that was beset by technical problems. Klobuchar, who chairs a Senate subcommittee focused on consumer protection and anti-trust, said she...

"More than 100 people who attended a Taylor Swift-themed party last Friday have since tested positive for COVID-19. The celebration of Swift’s “Red” album is now being considered a super spreader event, and even those attendees who have not yet tested positive for the coronavirus are being asked to isolate. ..."