When I first read this story – all about Naomi Judd coming to the defense of Taylor Swift – I was struck by a sudden odd feeling. It was like déjà vu, but different. I guess it was because I thought Naomi Judd had slammed Taylor Swift when Swifty won big at the CMAs. Turns out it wasn’t Naomi, it was Wynonna Judd. Is it wrong that I can’t tell them apart? Wynonna is the daughter, right? And Naomi is the mother. And Ashley Judd is Wynonna’s little sister.

Anyway, so it was Wynonna who slammed Swifty after the CMAs, saying that Swifty’s CMA sweep was “too much too soon… Time is God’s way of keeping everything from happening at once. It’s just too much of a good thing too soon.” Wynonna then had to eat sh-t, and she backtracked within a week: “My intent was not to take anything away from her talent and contributions to the country music industry, all of which are truly unprecedented for an artist of any age. Taylor is a beautiful, hard-working young woman that deserves the success she has had and I support her as an artist and as a woman in the business.” Now it looks like Wynonna’s mom loves some Swifty too! Naomi took up The Swifty Cause, defending Taylor’s wack Grammy performance, which was blamed – by Swifty’s record label, no less – on “technical issues.” Naomi didn’t get that memo, and she blamed the debacle on Swifty’s “stress and anxiety”. Hmm…

Don’t let Naomi Judd catch you saying anything bad about Taylor Swift. The veteran country singer has jumped to Swift’s defense after she was heavily criticized for her performance at the Grammy Awards last month.

In a letter to the editor of The Tennessean, Judd, calls Swift a “dazzling performer” and lauds her for single-handedly introducing “country music to a much-welcomed younger demographic.”

She attributes Swift’s less-than-perfect Grammy duet with Stevie Nicks to having an off night. “Having sung many times at the Grammys, I can tell you that the stress and anxiety of performing in front of the world’s top artists in every genre of music is tortuous for even the most seasoned singer,” Judd writes.

The backlash against Swift began immediately after her Grammy night performance, which the New York Times called “painfully out of tune.”

Swift’s label head, Scott Borchetta, rushed to her defense last week, calling her “the voice of a generation” and blaming a technical problem as the culprit behind the pitchy performance.

Judd also praises Swift’s “smarts, manners and class” as qualities young people should admire and emulate.

“If there’s an award for being the best role model for her generation,” she writes, “I’d like to be the one to give it to Taylor Swift.”

[From People]

Now, here’s the thing: I like Taylor Swift. I think she’s a good girl. I think she’s a much better role model for young girls than say, Miley Cyrus. Or Taylor Momsen. Or pretty much anyone out there in Young Hollywood right now. And I hate how everyone jumps on Swifty’s ass every time something good happens, like when she wins an award or something. It’s like the new trend – “Hating on Swifty When She Should Be Enjoying Her Moment”. All that being said, I do have to minorly hate on Swifty for just a second: she’s not “the best role model for her generation”. If you set her up like that, not only will she fail, but you’ll hate her for failing. Just let her do her music and enjoy her life and be the relatively classy (excepting John Mayer) young woman she already is.