Taylor Swift | TIME’s Person Of The Year
In an event only slightly less inevitable than the rising of the sun, Taylor Swift has been named Time’s Person of the Year. It is difficult to remember, or even conceive of, the last time a cultural figure felt as inescapable or as invincible as Swift has in the past year, breaking record after record—many of them previously set by her—on her way to becoming a Forbes-certified billionaire. Economies rose, ratings spiked, the entire movie industry took notes.
Swift, of course, is in the midst of her global Eras Tour, and has had three No. 1 albums this year. Time notes that she has had more No. 1 albums than any woman in history.
In the cover story, Taylor Swift addressed a number of hot-button topics, from her ongoing tour, her relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce (Swift says it began when he called her out on his podcast, “which I thought was metal as hell”), and Scooter Braun‘s acquisition of her masters: “With the Scooter thing, my masters were being sold to someone who actively wanted them for nefarious reasons, in my opinion.”
“It’s not lost on me that the two great catalysts for this happening were two horrendous things that happened to me,” she said. “The first was getting canceled within an inch of my life and sanity … The second was having my life’s work taken away from me by someone who hates me.”
Of Braun and West’s fortunes turning recently (the former having lost major clients and the latter having lost endorsement deals over antisemitic comments), Swift added, “Nothing is permanent. So I’m very careful to be grateful every second that I get to be doing this at this level, because I’ve had it taken away from me before. There is one thing I’ve learned: My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art. But I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote unquote defeat your enemies. Trash takes itself out every single time.”
In a social media post expressing her gratitude about the honor, the press-shy Swift acknowledged her trust issues when it comes to doing interviews, but said she “couldn’t be happier that I did this one with [writer Sam Lansky],” adding that she was “blown away” by the quotes included in the piece from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Greta Gerwig, Shonda Rhimes and Kenny Chesney, as well as two of her fans. “I’m really reflecting on this year, and all the years that led up to it. Can’t say thank you enough times,” she said.
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