You Need to Calm Down

Submission 12,825

Part of a series on Taylor Swift. [View Related Entries]

About

You Need to Calm Down is a song by Taylor Swift. In the two verses, Swift addresses mean-spirited online commenters and voices her support for the LGBTQ+ community. The song has proven divisive among critics, as some have praised Swift for voicing support for the LGBTQ+ community, while others have been critical and suspicious of Swift, believing Swift may have been pandering to the community.

Origin

On June 13th, 2019, Swift released the lyric video for her latest single, "You Need to Calm Down," off her upcoming album, Lover. As of June 17th, the video has over 12 million views (shown below). In the song, Swift has several clear messages of support for the LGBTQ+ community, including lyrics such as "Why be mad when you can be GLAAD" (GLAAD is a gay rights activism organization) and "Shade never made anybody less gay."

Spread

The song was quickly a hot topic of discussion. Critics were divided on the effectiveness of her messaging. Billboard^[1] praised it, writing "Where other artists would shy away due to fear of being dropped by a more conservative audience, Swift has planted herself firmly as an ally to the LGBTQ community, regardless of what some prejudiced listeners may think." Many of her fans reacted in a similar manner. @tsgetaway2^[2] posted an object labeling meme celebrating the song, gaining over 760 retweets and 1,800 likes (shown below, left). @TSwiftNZ^[3] made a similar point, pointing out the multiple shoutouts Swift gave to the LGBTQ+ community, gaining over 833 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, right). The track led to a spike in donations to GLAAD.^[4]

Others were less enthusiastic about both the track and Swift's method of voicing support to the LGBTQ+ community. Pitchfork^[5] slammed the track, writing that she "ends up sounding like another corporation proving they’re 'down for the cause' during Pride Month." Additionally, critic Michelle Kim wrote "The words are penned with the energy of a nail-painting emoji and delivered with a plastic smile," and "(the song) is like one of those fancy unicorn cupcakes, an impossibly cute confection designed to distract you from the fact that it’s a mediocre dessert." Slate^[6] critic Christina Cauterucci wrote,

The uncharitable explanation for all this queer-signaling is that Swift is trying to profit off the intrigue around her sexuality by giving queer fans just enough material to keep them interested while never actually coming out--either because she doesn’t want to hurt her career or because, you know, she’s straight.

Esquire^[7] writer Justin Kirkland voiced a similar take, writing "such a calculated move to leverage LGBTQ rights into her own image seems gross. It's clearly an effort to add a softened political message into her music without rubbing too many people the wrong way." Online, many fans shared a similar take. User @BrandyLJensen^[8] wrote she assumed the "GLAAD" lyric wasa joke, gaining over 100 retweets and 2,200 likes (shown below, left). User @BIG_LEOENERGY^[9] wrote that her music was "a mess" currently (shown below, right).

On June 17th, Swift released a cameo-filled music video for the track, featuring several LGBTQ+ icons, including Laverne Cox, the cast of Queer Eye, and Ellen Degeneres. She also dances while dressed as french fries with fellow pop star Katy Perry, dressed as a burger, with whom she has had a history of squabbles. The video gained over 4 million views in four hours.