Taylor Swift spoke about Pride Month during her Chicago, Illinois concert Friday. Swift called her concert “a safe space” and addressed recent anti-LGBTQ legislation. Swift has been an advocate for the community and donated $113,000 to an LGBTQ advocacy group.
Taylor Swift celebrated Pride Month during her Chicago Eras Tour stop Friday.
A video posted to Twitter by @PopCrave, captured the moment Swift, dressed in orange and sitting behind a piano, addressed the crowd.
“This is a safe space for you. This is a celebratory space for you. And one of the things that makes me feel so prideful is getting to be with you, and watching you interact with each other, and being so loving, and so thoughtful, and so caring,” Swift said to the cheering crowd.
Later in the video, the singer took aim at recent anti-LGBTQ legislation.
“There have been so many harmful pieces of legislation that have put people in the LGBTQ and queer community at risk,” Swift said. “It’s painful for everyone, every ally, every loved one, every person in these communities, and that’s why I’m always posting, ‘This is when the midterms are, this is when these important key primaries are.’”
“We can support as much as we want during Pride Month, but if we’re not doing our research on these elected officials, are they advocates?” she continued. “Are they allies? Are they protectors of equality?
Friday night was not the first time Swift has been outspoken regarding the LGBTQ community.
In April 2019, Swift donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project in response to a group of bills dubbed the “Slate of Hate” that targeted the LGBTQ community. In an August 2019 interview with Vogue , the “Shake It Off” singer explained why she felt compelled to champion this community.
“Rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male,” Swift said. “I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of.”
She also lent her support through her 2019 song “You Need to Calm Down.”
“The first verse is about trolls and cancel culture,” she told Vogue, speaking about the lyrics’ meaning. “The second verse is about homophobes and the people picketing outside our concerts.”
The music video featured cameos from prominent LGBTQ celebrities like Laverne Cox, RuPaul, and Ellen DeGeneres.
