Do you guys remember, back in the day, when Lady Gaga and Beyonce would put out new albums and they would blanket every media outlet with wall-to-wall promotion? Neither of them does that anymore. But Taylor Swift still does. She’s probably going to be on a dozen major magazine covers this fall alone, all to promote her new album. Here’s the latest: Swifty covers the November issue of InStyle. The cover is blah but the pictorial is decent. The interview is sort of interesting too – Swifty talks about whether she’s ready for marriage and babies. Spoiler: she’s not ready.
Whether she wants kids: “I don’t know if I’ll have kids. It’s impossible not to picture certain scenarios and how you would try to convince them that they have a normal life when, inevitably, there will be strange men pointing giant cameras at them from the time they are babies.”
Marriage: “I’m too young to get married. Not agewise, but I know myself, so why try to meet someone right now when I know I’m too young to do something serious?”
Her girlfriends: Her “group of friends” are “the most important thing to me right now…They are so fun and know me and like me for who I actually am. It’s really wonderful to have someone like Lena Dunham in my life. We have the same responsibility and the same pressure that’s on you when you write every single word you end up performing. The last couple of years have been about defining life on my own terms. Being on my own, prioritizing my girlfriends, my family and my music above everything else and trying things I never thought I’d try. It’s a really liberating and freeing time.”
What it would take for her to start dating again: “It would take an astonishing human for me to even consider getting back into a relationship. It would take something really, really, really, really different—a kind of a one-in-a-million person for me to face all that. I don’t have any kind of idea who I’d want to be with, because I don’t have any pieces missing from my life right now. I’m not looking for anything to complete. I think that’s a nice place to be.”
I agree that she’s not ready to marry anyone right now, because her brain is still set on “middle school” and that’s not great for marriage. But I think her answer about kids is somewhat disingenuous: plenty of super-famous people manage to become parents and raise their children without the paparazzi interfering. Granted, for every low-key Matt Damon, there are like twenty celebrities openly wanting their kids to get photographed. But my point still stands: if Taylor wanted to keep her children private, she could. But right now she’s in a “courting the media” phase, so we’ll see where she is in five or six years.
Meanwhile, Swifty appeared on Graham Norton this weekend and John Cleese was also a guest. Guess what they have in common? They’re both cat people. What happened was hilarious – Cleese does not think much of Swifty’s Scottish fold kitty and as it turns out, Cleese is obsessed with his Maine Coon. His Maine Coon is HUGE. That’s one of the biggest cats I’ve ever seen in my life. My mom has two Maine Coons and they’re big, heavy girls, but they look dainty compared to Cleese’s kitty.
Some photos of Swifty out in London last week – cute sweater, terrible pants.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and InStyle.
I think it’s great that she knows she’s too young/immature for marriage and kids, because she is.
Could someone amongst you explain Taylor Swift to me please. To my gay, European sensibility she seems utterly bland, pointless, goody two shoes, dull & boring. Her voice is as dull as she is & her songs are only fit for consumption by really catatonic pre schoolers, if that. Even my three year old nephew, who loves music videos, always want to change it when hers come on. Is there something about her that is being lost in translation to a non American audience?
You basically described 90 % of the mainstream music right now. At least she writes her own songs.
@Tristan – +1 – catatonic teenagers rather! Your nephew clearly has great taste.
She aint radiohead, that’s for sure. However, even by the admittedly dire standards of the current mainstream music scene, she stands out as being particularly dreary. She’s like a dumbed down Britney Spears without the madness
She’s a good girl. She writes her own music and her gossip never involves anything serious. She’s a rich white girl that sings about rich white girl problems (boys). A lot of girls identify with that, and they are her audience. Her selling point is exactly that she’s “boring”.
Actually, “Shake It Off” and the three big singles off of Red were written by Max Martin, not Swift. But she did get co-writing credits on some.
You are spot on Tristan – remember her “popularity” is due in part to the massive corporate hype machine she has behind her – everything you said about her music is true – and she doesn’t write her own music she has plenty of help – and if your music is crap, what difference does it make if you write it – that’s no feather in your cap. American pop music is bad but there are still plenty of people that like muddy waters, miles davis, Jimi Hendrix, etc. – but they are ignored.
Maybe she doesn’t want kids and she’s using “fame” as an excuse not to have any.
Why is it that we all must get married and have babies? I don’t get it …
yes, I don’t understand why actors and actresses catch hell sometimes for not wanting kids and / or marriage.
Anyway its her life , her decision.
Yes Taylor is basically the good girl, she’s the*rich-famous) pretty girl next door, many parents would feel she’s harmless and sweet if you bought her home or had her as a friend.
I think I like the new and improved Swifty. Now that she knows what Feminism means she has shown some great improvement. Hopefully it is true growth and not just proper PR handling.
Now if she could stop the daily fashion show pap walk…..
She’s friends with Emma Stone, Lorde and Lena Dunham, who all seem very self-contained. I think she’s a bit vanilla and tries to sell us the image of the American Girl, but she’s truly a business woman and pretty smart (not saying that she’s a genius, but she’s able to handle her career and rearrange her image).
As the Barenaked Ladies said, Vanilla is the finest of the flavors. Nothing wrong with being the personal version of oatmeal. She makes some good money, she is making some good career choices.
I’m glad she realized being boy crazy made her look like an idiot and she corrected it. She forces the conversation off boys and it starting to inch into bigger topics. I have to give her credit for playing this so well.
Lena had better hold tight to that Fun boyfriend of hers. I don’t trust Swifty. She is a fake. Her new obsession is collecting girlfriends as part of this new image. I read somewhere that Selena Gomez said that Swifty begged her to come live with her. It’s like she can’t bear to be alone. And if it isn’t a guy, then it’s going to be a cat and a bunch of women. I can’t wait to see what her next obsession will be. There’s something frightening to me about this young woman/arrested development girl.
@Abbicci, I love that you referenced The BNL : )
@Bertha I cannot fathom what life must be like for someone so young and very famous; her peers since she was 14 have been working teenagers and young adults. Perhaps it isn’t that she cannot be alone, but that the manner in which very famous people who are looking to spend time with authentic people in their lives need to be more creative about it. Most of her close friends are also busy and travel extensively. I had roommates and I love to be alone.
Taylor is completely full of s.h.i.t. She is trying too hard on this new image of men don’t matter. And now she is upping it by saying no kids as a possibility. Don’t buy it. This is all a ploy to stop the jokes about her being a stalker type girlfriend
Preach. The lady doth protest too much. And again, the Swift-led portion of the PR focuses on the same old same old: backstabbing broads ruining her life and ex boyfriend songs. She must literally have her publicists spoon feed every word of her new girlpower image to her.
She’s also setting herself up for massive failure with the talk of the next guy having to be absolutely amazing/perfect/brilliant. Also strange that she mentioned she doesn’t have anything *missing* for a guy to fill. You can be self-sufficient and still want love and companionship. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. She still has the princess fairy tale romance in her head. Good thing she’s not ready for marriage.
I got that too…she is still placing all the pressure and the blame in a future relationship on the guy. Look at how she trashed Jake Gyllanhaul and even Katy Perry as well as Harry Styles. If a guy is a public figure they would be very wise to stay away from the bunny boiler,Taylor Swift.
You know, I thought it was really interesting what she said at that point. She didn’t say guy, she said “person” and “human”. What if her next guy isn’t a guy at all? Mayber her break from dating is because she’s closeted now.
Now that I think about it, Taylor reminds me of Amy in “Gone Girl”.
That crossed my mind Friday after I saw the movie Gone Girl and saw a poster on the theater lobby wall with Taylor Swift on it
I know all starlets have personas (personae?); they take a part of themselves and expand it, turning it into a character that they play for their music, movie, whatever is their form of expression. But Taylor Swift sucks at it. She goes ways into it, to the point that it seems glaringly fake. Before it was all about boys and “Ew, feminism!” and photo-ops with someone else’s kids and a constant stream of commitment-phobic men. Now it’s about Girl Power and being yourself and on your own or whatever. The divide is so obvious. Why can’t you just live a balanced life, Taylor? Her constant 180-degree turns are not some natural part of growing up; it’s blatant marketing to promote whatever is the theme of her new album.
Like what I said only way better. Wouldn’t be surprised if she had a guy she was secretly seeing on the side.
Yes! I saw your comment after I posted mine. She irritates me so much.
Kaya: Swift appears to be evolving and learning about herself through her relationships, friends and grow to know who she is. How many folks really knew who they were at age 24 and what they wanted from life? Tastes, life experiences continue to mold and change an individual’s, wishes, dreams and outlook on their life plan.
I must be a fan because I do like her clothes style, personality, and find her comments on the John Cleese interview rather amusing.
I like the pants. I think they look cute with the sweater. A red sweater or top would work too.
I love that sweater! Does anyone have a designer ID?????
Me too, I don’t know about it with the khaki color pants though.
Yes the pants are fab, completely in style.
I also love the pants. The top that she wears with them is nice, but WTF is going on with the tops on the cover and in the last thumbnail?
I don’t mean to be cynical (oh yes you do, Abbott) but it seems like she totally rearranged her personal life to fit this new marketing narrative of being a girls’ girl. Something doesn’t ring true.
That was the impression I got too. She is so calculated to me.
Well, I think she was “slut shamed” into presenting herself this way. Part of me wishes she didn’t give a f–k like Rihanna and continued living her life as she pleases. If that means having a new boyfriend every three months, so be it. I don’t think the backlash against Taylor was so much about her writing about breakups in her songs or even appearing to be “clingy,” but because some people in the media suggested she’d “pretended to be a good girl” while dating up a storm. This attack was archaic and antifeminist. After all, no one knows if Taylor Swift slept with every man she’s been linked to romantically. I really doubt she has, but even if she did, it’s reprehensible to attack her for that.
Sex is bad! Bad I say!
@betty I remember that. First she was dating too much, now not enough. What is the exact right number people? How can this 20 something year old woman live her life in the way that you all see fit?
If anything Taylor slut-shamed herself. Mostly people were ridiculing her for her vengeful song-writing and for her obsession with getting a boyfriend. The # of them was irrelevant. It was the manner of her pursuit and subsequent tacky revenge that folks found unsettling. but people rarely change so I expect some of these female friendships to start enjoying the Taylor-revenge in 1…2…3…
That clip was funny, and now I desperately want Cleese’s cat. We have one in our family about that size but not Maine Coon- he’s just a beast, and the sweetest cat ever.
John Cleese is wonderful. You could tell he was totally baiting Taylor with his remarks about her cat and later about women. He is such a funny man.
That’s a real GIGANTIC Cat !!!!!
And if someone watched my cat photo and say “that’s not a cat” I would totally kill him! LOL
she looked pretty upset when he said that haha
That face was priceless, she was *not* impressed!
Having said that, if someone said that about my furry babies, things would not end well either . . .
I think she’s too young to really know who Cleese is or appreciate his sense of humor. He wasn’t being serious at all but she couldn’t tell.
Everyone knows who Cleese is! I’m 21 and every single one of my friends knows about Cleese and Monty Python. And we appreciate his sense of humor.
@Lucinda
My impression is that Taylor thinks of those cats like they are her babies. So for her, it’s basically like saying her kid is ugly. A lot of folks wouldn’t find such comments funny. It has nothing to do with her not knowing of John Cleese or his sense of humor.
But you’re wrong about that point anyway, because I saw this episode and she apparently does know who John Cleese is since she mentioned specific roles of his that she liked.
Taylor’s cats are gorgeous.
She looked a little upset about John’s comments, but rebounded well, and was laughing towards the end.
Love her fashion on Graham Norton. She looks very polished and pretty.
For some reason, she stills reads virgin to me. I can’t imagine her having or enjoying sex.
She always seemed asexual to me.
Same. I just can’t see her bouncing on a D.
I can’t either. I think she’s just got old-fashioned morals. Nothing wrong with that as long as she’s not trying to shove them on everyone!
i agree. there isnt anything sensual about her.
but what is the biggest hint is her dating basically every famous men in the closet. seriously, dating so many assumed gay men in a row seems fishy. lots of singers and actresses had a bread relationship but most of them had only one and they needed the publicity, Taylor was always very famous on her own and made huge amounts of money.
she is either a lesbian and doesnt want to talk about it or is asexual. no way is she into men.
Or maybe she’s just a virgin and doesn’t want to say so.
Can you imagine John Mayer not hitting that? Please. Taylor is no virgin. Her problem is that she was not comfortable with her sexuality. She wanted it all ratified by a package of commitment and marriage. She couldn’t just let her inner slut out in peace. Now she has retreated even more from her sexuality by living in a house full of cats and women. What she needed to do was date more, not less. You don’t learn how to function in a heterosexual relationship by running away from romantic involvement. But you also don’t set up such an ideal future boyfriend — which real life man who farts and burps can live up to her silly expectations? This is not progress — this is a woman searching for a Ken doll. Her’s is a fake maturity and it’s gonna crack one of these days. Just you watch.
I suspect it’s because she played the innocent girl card for so long. What gross f*ck wants to picture banging a teen girl? Even John Mayer got squicked by the age gap, and he actually did hit it. JOHN MAYER. At this point, she can’t divest herself from that personality entirely, though she may be able to mature and modify it into something closer to the mainstream. But she’ll never be sexy. In the world of the virgin/whore/mother dichotomy, there’s no middle ground.
How much can she say of possible interest after the 3rd or 4th magazine cover in a row? Let’s just hear the music and be done with it.
John Cleese looks like he’s about to fall off the sofa.
i guess he’s cat trained (i have a cousin who’s so well-trained by her cats (all the sofa are belong to catses) that she even sits on the edge of sofas or chairs even in a cat-free environment).
I didn’t think the answer about the kids was disingenuous. She might change her mind in a couple of years (as most women do), but at this point in time I don’t think that answer sounds weird (regardless of what she chooses to do in the future).
She should come out the closet already, I don’t buy anything she says.
She has always pinged my gaydar too!
Her style/hair/makeup game is on POINT lately. She looks so good.
If she realizes she’s not ready for kids, then good for her. As for cameras being shoved in the child’s face, I think a lot of that hinges on HER.
Do we see daily pap walks from Adele and her child? I think not. She could keep her live much more private, assuming she will even be A-list in a few years.
I think you’re absolutely right that a lot of that hinges on her, to be frank, I think right now she prefers to do the daily pap stroll and such and wants to be on top of her career and just be very visible. Which is totally fine. She knows that at this point having a child would not only possibly compromise her career (I don’t know how teens will be able to relate to a Mom) it would also hinder the child from growing up in a better environment.
The Lord has saved future grocery shoppers nerves and ears! Happy Sunday 🙂
She is dumb as a box of rocks….
She has zero sense of humor.
Thought she came across really well in this clip, very funny and smart.
I like her.
Interesting choice of pronouns in the last answer. Note she never says guy or man or boy, but person and human.
Taylor, is there something you’re not telling us?
Ooh, I didn’t even notice that. Good catch!
I’m not mad about her, but I think it’s a good thing she realizes not to be ready for children.
Still, I found so disheartening women feel obliged to give explications about their will to be or not to be mother.
Yeah I don’t buy any of what she is trying to sell. I mean this is obviously a better Taylor then before but it’s doesn’t seem like the real one. None of this is coming off as her growing up to me and more like ‘I don’t want people joking about me so I need to change my image’ and it has been working. But it’s so 180 and she is pushing it really hard so it’s just hard to believe it’s 100% genuine.
This! Totally concur.
John Vs Taylor made me laugh so much! Cat wars, amazing 😀
I don’t get why everyone points out all the time this whole new “I don’t need boys” phase is PR. Of course it is. She’s a teen idol, she’s supposed to be liked. It’s her job. You don’t expect genuineness from teen idols. But I don’t care it’s fake, I like this new image Swifty is projecting, other than the whole crap about being iluminated by Lena Dunham.
I think people are just fed up with manufactured pop stars who try to pretend to be something they are not. Personally if the artist is talented and deserving of the accolades from a talent perspective then I could careless about what they think. Taylor to me is so over rated in the talent department. What drives her popularity is pure branding,savvy marketing and cross marketing with other artists and entertainers as well as networking with industry leaders. Taylor’s marketing team is top notch.
But when others were pointing out that Emma Watson’s speech was just a PR stunt everyone was defending her saying that it doesn’t matter as long as the word is out there. It’s not the same because of their backgrounds?
Melomelo,Emma is not doing PR 24 by 7 and doing daily pap walks . Emma’s rhetoric and actions for the most part have been very consistent,whereas one can’t say the same for Swifty.
MeloMelo +100000
Now she is gonna write a song about John Cleese.
Dear John Part 2
Totally.
Ok, but is anyone going to give a crap about her when she is ready to have kids?
Hmmm to famous for babies, really?? Elvis had a kid, nuff said. Taylor has a long way to go.
Yeah, Elvis had a kid who dropped out of school, had problems with drugs and alcohol, and married Michael Jackson. How exactly is that a good example of a kid of a famous person having a normal life?
Several celebrities have kids who wind up in trouble or screwed up. I don’t mind what Taylor said. It would be a concern for someone in her position.
She definitely has an over inflated idea of her career longevity. By the time she has kids, she’ll need to chase down the paparazzi and beg them to take pics.
As much as she’s pushing this idea that she isn’t down for a relationship right now I feel like behind the scenes she might be very casually seeing Irish musician Hozier. She’s been spotted at his concerts and she’s mentioned him here and there. They are the same age, both musicians and OMG is he a cutie. He was on SNL last night and I was very impressed. Get it girl!
the real passive aggressive girl we all always try to avoid. way too calculated and fake. sometimes less is more. and learn to chill a bit.
I just realised, to me she looks just like Jesse Eisenberg in a wig! I cannot unsee it…
I f*ckin love John Cleese. I don’t know how Taylor wasn’t fangirling the whole time, I know I would be.. I’d probably be an insufferable celebrity always fangirling around the celebs I love
Not a fan of Taylor Swift, but kinda impressed with her in the clip. She has good comic timing and came across intelligent. Although Graham Norton usually knows how to bring out the best in people.
Also…I love John Cleese! I love his pot belly. I love the fact that he is a cat person. I love his humor. I just love him!!