Taylor Swift finally broke her silence about her political stance on Sunday night (07Oct18) as she urged her fans to register to vote in the U.S. midterm elections.
While many celebrities have been outspoken about their political views, particularly since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump in November, 2016, Taylor has always been silent about her take on political issues - something for which she has been criticised in the past.
However, she ended her silence on Sunday when she declared that she was supporting Democrats Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives in the state of Tennessee.
"In the past I’ve 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," she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. "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.
"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 colour is terrifying, sickening and prevalent... I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin colour, gender or who they love."
She explained that, while she would like to vote for women into office, she couldn't back Marsha Blackburn, admitting Blackburn's voting record "appalls and terrifies me", listing a few examples. She then urged her followers to educate themselves on the candidates running in their state and to register to vote by 9 October, ahead of the elections on 6 November.
Bredesen responded to Taylor's endorsement, tweeting that he was "honoured" to have her support.
A number of celebrities praised the 28-year-old's post, with Alyssa Milano thanking Taylor for speaking out, Debra Messing writing, "grateful that @taylorswift13 spoke up. hope this is just the beginning!!" and Questlove posting, "Good on you @taylorswift13. Whether you have 1 follower or 100 million, now is the time to speak out and VOTE."
Comments have been disabled on Taylor's Instagram post.
