‘Shade never made anybody less gay’: Watch Taylor Swift’s new song celebrating inclusivity
The song ‘You Need to Calm Down’ is a manual of sorts on how to be a better person, especially on the internet.
American music star Taylor Swift has released a new music video titled You Need to Calm Down and it is already winning the internet.
The prominent themes of the song include tackling homophobia, demanding equal rights for the LGBTQ community, and commenting on the culture of pitting women against each other.
It features a plethora of artistes, including Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Reynolds, Laverne Cox, Dexter Mayfield, Ciara, RuPaul, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Justin Mikita, Billy Porter, Adam Lambert, Todrick Hall, Hayley Kiyoko, Chester Lockhart, Adam Rippon, Hannah Hart, and Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk, and Tan France.
The music video is a colourful one, with vibrant tones, pride flags, and glitter, set in a trailer park. “Sunshine on the street at the parade, but you would rather be in the dark ages, makin’ that sign must’ve taken all night (sic),” Swift says during the video to a group of people displaying posters with homophobic messages. The song has been aptly released during pride month.
The music video ends with a cameo by singer Katy Perry who is known to have had a tiff with Swift in the past. The two say that they have now buried the hatchet.
A happy meal 🍔 🍟 💗 pic.twitter.com/hPAbOZEsKF
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 17, 2019
A message towards the end of the video asks viewers to sign a petition in support of the Equality Act.
The song received over a million views in less than 24 hours of being released on YouTube. It is part of Taylor Swift’s forthcoming album, Lover, which will be out on August 23.