On Tuesday night, Taylor Swift gave her first award show performance in three years at the 2018 American Music Awards. The Reputation singer opened up the show singing "I Did Something Bad" from the album, and she killed it. At one point, Swift pointed to herself while singing, "They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one."
Her performance comes only two days after she made a rare political statement on her Instagram endorsing two Tennessee Democratic candidates, Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper, ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. "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 on Instagram. "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."
After Swift made her endorsement, voter registration increased, and fans analyzed her performance very closely. They quite literally compared it to a witch ritual when she sang the lyrics, "They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one."
twitter watching taylor swift arrive at the AMAs after her instagram post inspired 240,000 people to register to vote pic.twitter.com/nPbMAWvdqFOctober 9, 2018
TAYLOR SWIFT HAD A COMEBACK PERFORMANCE OF A LIFETIME AND ENDED THE MALE SPECIES IN THE PROGRESS I LOVE HER I LOVE HER I LOVE HER #TaylorSwiftAMAS #AMAs pic.twitter.com/F1V103205pOctober 10, 2018
I’m so emotional rn.. @taylorswift13 did not come to playOctober 10, 2018
This Taylor Swift performance is giving me major Scarlet Witch vibes & I am HERE. FOR. IT. #AMAsOctober 10, 2018
This Taylor Swift performance is giving me major Scarlet Witch vibes & I am HERE. FOR. IT. #AMAsOctober 10, 2018
LAST NIGHT TAYLOR SWIFT DECIDED TO SPEAK OUT HER MIND AND TOMORROW NIGHT SHE'S PERFORMING I DID SOMETHING BAD WHICH INCLUDES THE LYRICS "IF A MAN TALKS SHIT THEN I OWE HIM NOTHING" AND "THEY'RE BURNING ALL THE WITCHES EVEN IF YOU AREN'T ONE" THAT'S HAVING BIG DICK ENERGYOctober 8, 2018
Swift is nominated in four categories tonight: artist of the year; favorite female artist, pop/rock; favorite album, pop/rock; and favorite tour of the year.
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Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the site’s day-to-day editorial operations. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire, where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. She also launched and managed the site’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC. Offline, she’s likely watching a Heat game or finding a new coffee shop.
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