Taylor Swift has revealed the sneaky strategy she uses to respond when critics mock her. The pop star discussed her approach during the Grammy Museum’s Icon Sessions, which dropped Monday.
Swift, 36, sat down with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, as reported [1] by Page Six.
During the conversation, she explained why answering mockery with more mockery can be entertaining.
“Sometimes when people are mocking me it’s really fun to mock them back,” Swift told Mason.
Her method can include choosing words that critics have to look up before they can continue talking about her, an admission she delivered with a laugh.
The singer also took aim at one common response she hears from critics. “It’s like, anything you say, they’re like, ‘Oh, easy for you to say,’” she said in an exaggerated tone as the audience laughed.
Swift admitted that negative comments about her sometimes fuel her. At the same time, she stressed that making music is ultimately not about securing validation from everyone.
“I realized that I’m making music because I’m playing for the fans,” she said. “I’m putting this out for people who care about it and who look to music as a way to cope with their life in the way that I did.”
For Swift, the important question is whether she still wants to release music after recognizing that doing so will not produce universal approval. She said continuing under those circumstances demonstrates that the music is being made for the right reasons.
“I think that if you can actually go through all those checkpoints, and realize that putting out music that you’ve made that you love so much is not the path to universal validation, if you’re still doing it, then you love it for the right reasons.”
Swift also acknowledged that she made the decision to pursue a life in the spotlight. One of her coping mechanisms is reminding herself that she chose this life every day and could have stepped away before it became unmanageably big.
That reminder brings her back to how much she loves making music. Despite everything that accompanies her highly visible career, Swift said the experience remains worthwhile as long as she is able to continue creating songs.
“And I decided not to because I love it that much,” she continued. “And that’s just where it begins and where it ends. And everything that comes with this ultimately is worth it as long as I get to still make music.”
Her remarks at the Grammy Museum echoed comments she made back in October about criticism of her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Rather than objecting to the attention, Swift said she welcomed the response.
“I welcome the chaos,” Swift said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “The rule of show business is, if it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping.”
Swift also made clear that she does not intend to control how listeners respond to her work. “I’m not the art police,” she quipped.
“It’s, like, everybody is allowed to feel exactly how they want, and what our goal is as entertainers is to be a mirror.”
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Away from those conversations about criticism and music, the “Fate of Ophelia” singer has recently been out and about while proudly displaying her wedding ring.
She married Travis Kelce during their wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York City last month.
Swift also reportedly spent Saturday night with her good friend Dakota Johnson, who is newly single. The two had a girls’ night at the exclusive Birds Street Club in Los Angeles.