Taylor Swift’s unopened fan mail was found in a Nashville dumpster: LOL?

I got my April issue of Vanity Fair yesterday, and the first thing I did was pour through the Taylor Swift interview. VF put the most controversial (and eye-rolly) quotes online already, but there are definitely some other gems in the piece. Swifty talks a lot about her work ethic (which rings true – she works hard) and there’s a lot of analysis about Swifty’s media game and how well she has played the media up until this point. There’s a lot of talk about how right now, at this moment, there’s a Taylor Swift backlash and it really bothers Tay-Tay because people who say mean things about her are totally MEAN. What I’m saying is that I don’t have the time or the inclination to cull all of the craziness, so you should totally buy the issue. Or you could read the full thing from the scans here at this Tumblr. I’ll give you one moment of “OMG TWEE”:

The moment you walk into Taylor Swift’s penthouse, you know she isn’t faking it with all those love songs about high school heartbreak and dreaming of the perfect guy. She really is that romantic. She may just be the girliest girl in America. Her foyer is covered with frames of brightly colored paper flowers; insider, you’re greeted by a six-foot topiary rabbit. There are antique birdcages everywhere and mobs of crocheted throw pillows. There’s a koi pond in the middle of the living room, whose 20-foot windows look to the Great Smoky Mountains beyond Nashville.

[From Vanity Fair, print edition]

Hilariously, Nancy Jo Sales (the interviewer) also throws a great deal of shade on Tay-Tay throughout the piece, especially when Swift pulls the “I won’t talk about my love life but you can talk to one of my friends and she’ll tell you every gossipy detail” thing. Also hilarious? Apparently, Tay-Tay is FINALLY over-exposed officially. All of her 2012-13 magazine covers undersold – she was on the covers of Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmo and Elle, and all of them sold poorly. The biggest cover stars of the year were Lady Gaga (on Vogue) and Adele (on Vogue), Lauren Conrad (on Glamour!) and Scarlett Johansson (on Cosmo).

And the news gets worse for Swifty… Nashville media outlets are reporting (and it’s getting wider coverage now) that hundreds of pieces of Taylor’s fan-mail ended up in a dumpster. All of the pieces of mail were unopened, and all had been sent to her PO Box, where the mail is “usually” picked up by someone on Swifty’s staff. It’s a big deal because Swifty has always claimed to be extraordinarily close with her fans. A Swifty spokesperson said: “Taylor gets thousands of fan letters everyday and they are delivered to her management office. After the letters are opened and read, they are recycled… The only explanation for any letters being unopened would be that a small batch of mail that was supposed to be delivered to Taylor was accidentally put with letters headed for the recycling center. We sincerely appreciate Channel 2 bringing this to our attention, and we plan to immediately pick up the mail.”

Now, should we slam her for this? I’m kind of ambivalent on it. She probably receives thousands of pieces of mail a week, and what is she supposed to do? Read every piece? I guess her management team pulls the best or most interesting pieces of mail for her to read and then they “recycle” the rest. Meaning they trash it, most likely. And? I know it’s harsh, but that’s life.

Photos courtesy of Vanity Fair and WENN.

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78 Responses to “Taylor Swift’s unopened fan mail was found in a Nashville dumpster: LOL?”

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  1. celine says:

    err.
    what did u expect. no matter what she says next. she is only sorry she got caught.

    • BB says:

      I read this story yesterday on another site. There is no way anyone could read all that fan mail. Taylor gets fan mail from all over the world.

    • Abra says:

      I agree. From now on the mail will go into a shredder before being “recycled” as to not get busted.

  2. Kaye says:

    “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t open fan mail.” (Madeline Albright, probably.)

    • Debbie says:

      Haha love it

    • Jennifer says:

      I’m not a fan I’m actually hater but you must be and idiot if you think that anybody reads these letters.

      • Mary says:

        The person that must be an idiot is the person that cannot even write a sentence using normal grammar. Obviously Kaye was playing off the Swifty quote from earlier this week, not actually saying she should read every letter.

      • Kaye says:

        Thanks, Mary!
        Yeah. Obviously, I don’t think she reads ’em ether. It’s called a joke based on Swift’s original misappropriation of Secretary Albright’s quote. Didn’t think i needed to spell that out…

      • Lucinda says:

        It’s fine that she doesn’t read them all. Just don’t act like you do. Then no one cares if some accidentally end up in a dumpster. But when you make a big deal about it (like she does nearly everything), then she looks even more like a hypocrite when something like this happens. Unfortunately context is everything, something she doesn’t understand.

    • SusieQ2 says:

      It’s okay Kaye(!?!)

      You didn’t need to spell it out. I got it and I loved it!!

    • Jackie Jormp Jomp (formerly Zelda) says:

      +5 Internets for this one.

    • Shannon says:

      Hahahahaha

  3. Nemesis says:

    How is her management pulling the most interesting letters when all those we’re thrown away?

    • Larissa says:

      they probably pick 10 randomly, open, have a laugh with it, and throw it away. I doubt they spend more than 15 min. with fan mail.

  4. brin says:

    I think Carrie Underwood should write a song about this.

  5. Jackie Jormp Jomp (formerly Zelda) says:

    I can see why, but dude: Shredders and poor interns to run them exist. Discretion.

    • Seagulls says:

      +1

      Or at least double bag them. I bet Swift is PO’d that her staff mucked this up so badly.

      Joan Crawford allegedly answered each piece of fan mail for years.

    • Simple Red says:

      So true… Discretion indeed…

      Don’t they know people go through people’s garbage to get information…

      Management take heed

  6. Ranunculus says:

    I love how she always poses with her mouth open. Gives her image an extra shot of crazy – not that I thought that was possible.

    • Lulu says:

      Photogs always ask women to open their mouths slightly. It’s supposed to create a more aesthetically pleasing jaw line.

      • Michella says:

        Not so much. Photographers will often give direction to relax your mouth, but this means releasing the tightness in your lips so that they sit just slightly ajar, much the way they would if you were to lightly blow out of your lips.

      • Ranunculus says:

        Maybe the photogs who like women to look like blow-up dolls.

  7. Debbie says:

    I will never understand why celebrities and their management try to sell them as perfect sweet virginal angels, no one can be what they sell and honestly anyone that tries is highly unlikable because everyone has a flaw. The flaws make us interesting and fun. Besides its not like they have to say she is a self centered ego driven crack head, she could just use bad language. I don’t know but there is a space between trainwreck whore and perfect sweet angel and that is where most reside.

  8. Green_Eyes says:

    I don’t know if I would want to be called the girliest girl in America at the age of 24 (25?). Sounds creepy like you never matured. Oh in her mind she never left 15 & must think that a huge compliment!

  9. Maya says:

    I can’t wait to read the article! I love Nancy Jo Sales; her articles have always been great.

    • j.eyre says:

      Have they? Are there any others that especially stand out to you? And this is a real question – no sarcasm. I was impressed with what I read of this article and would like to read more.

  10. SusieQ2 says:

    I can just see this appearing as a Juliette Barnes storyline in ‘Nashville’.

    (Love that show)

    Is anyone else creeped out by the idea of a 6ft topiary rabbit in the foyer??

    • Sugar says:

      That I bet she acknowledges with hellos, goodbyes & nite-nites. but if Topiary Harvey talks back well Tay Tay need a vacay.

    • CreamSoda says:

      Yes about the topiary. Reminds me of a Stephen King novel.

    • Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

      Yesssssss. But not as freaked by that as I am of 100-tonne copy of Watership Down that’s hurtling towards us.

  11. Mom2two says:

    I am not going to throw shade at her about the fan mail. No way does she have time to read and respond to it all. Entertainment Weekly did a profile on Norman Reedus ( Darryl from the Walking Dead) and it mentioned how he has trailer full of fan mail and gifts and he does not have the fame of Taylor, so I cannot even imagine how much she gets. Sucks for the fans who take time to write a letter but it is the way it is.

  12. Faye says:

    Not surprised by this — no way does she have time to read all the fan mail she gets. But be more discreet about disposing of it!

    What I really want to know is why the woman who found it went dumpster-diving in a recycling bin.

  13. dahlianoir says:

    i wrote to the spice girls back in the day, it took a year and a printed signed card but hey, they ( their staff) still answered. And they used to rule the world lol

    • GoodCapon says:

      Aww that’s sweet! And hey at least their staff replied 😉

    • Dutch says:

      Read a comment the other day where someone’s son wrote NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson at age 7 and got his autograph and response six years later.

  14. gg says:

    Sorry, but no way can you see the bloody Smokey Mountains from Nashvile. They’re nowhere near Nashville.

  15. ZachAttack says:

    Haha. I like that whoever posted the Tumblr scans of the VF interview also highlighted passages.

  16. Cam S says:

    This kid (can’t bring myself to call her a woman), is way overexposed. She should see the backlash coming. It’s what we do as a society, build you up then tear you down. Especially when we see her 24/7

  17. elceibeno08 says:

    Does anybody here think she has time to read thousands of fan letters? I don’t think so. When she is not chasing boys and/or writing songs about them she has to go on tour, interviews, photo ops, etc.
    she has to sleep too.

  18. Amanda says:

    I won’t slam her for this one. God knows there’s plenty of other things that grate my nerves when it comes to this bunny boiler!

  19. Celt Lady says:

    This story makes me think of how Gloria Estefan, who at the peak of Miami Sound Machine’s heyday, took the time to not only read her fan mail, but she also responded with a letter and signed photo for my little girl.

    THAT is class.

  20. Kiddo says:

    ….where it belongs. There, I fixed it (the lede) for you.

  21. TG says:

    I have enjoyed Kaiser’s take on this and all the subsequent comments, but I must be the only one who has not rushed to read the Shifty article. I love Vanity Fair and pore over nearly every article but for some reason the celeb cover article is usually not a rush for me. I guess I find this chick annoying and childish. I agree no way does she have the time nor the inclination to read all her letters from idiotic fans but she should not paint herself as someone who adores her fans that is why the backlash. As someone said above don’t paint yourself as this sweet virginal thing when you aren’t. I might not dislike her if she was just honest about who she is. One more thing about Shifty. I think she looks fabulous with bangs so how in the heck did they screw up this photo shoot? She looks absolutely horrible on the cover and the inside cover. Haven’t looked at article so can’t speak for those pics. These pics remind me of when I was in high school years ago and my mom finally let me get bangs and I just never looked right or sophisticated. Maybe that is the point with these photos to make her look country. If that is the case her fans should be upset because that means she thhinks her fans are unsophisticated.

    I just finished the fascinating article on the City of London in VF and the scary shenanigans going on there. It is fascinating and disturbing to see where all the money is at and how shady it all is.

  22. Mika says:

    “her men…”? more like her “boys”, doesn’t she prefer it that way?

  23. EmmaStoneWannabe says:

    I wonder if someone from inside her team did it on purpose to sabotage her a little bit and then leaked it to a news source…or if someone on her team let it slip to a friend or something that they usually just trash them in a certain dumpster on X street in Nashville and someone went there, found them and reported it… I have a hard time believing someone just came across them by accident.

    • garvels says:

      That is what I was thinking. I was also thinking that she has assistants who handle this stuff and maybe one of her assistants was lazy and just pitched the mail instead of opening the mail before “recycling”.

  24. Isa says:

    Yes she has put the image of a celebrity that’s adores her fans out there, but come on she can’t possibly read all of her fan mail. What else is she supposed to do with it? Having one of her handlers respond and stamp it with her signature just seems silly to me. Then again so does sending fan mail.

  25. Fran says:

    I’m sure everyone here knows she and/or her staff can’t read all of the fan mail, however, for unopened mail to be discovered like that is a rather blatant error on their part. It’s a slap in the face to those fans of hers that do take the time to write to her in the misguided belief Taylor cares.

  26. JL says:

    I say spend the money and send the writers of the letters at least a postcard or picture.

    She’ll learn not to bite the hand that feeds her one of these days.

    • Nina W says:

      I agree, her fans are the reason she’s a success. It is disrespectful to ignore their letters and there is no excuse for it. She can afford to hire the necessary people to manage her mail and if she truly cared for her fans, she would.

  27. amanda says:

    I just don’t understand why anyone would bother to send fan mail. Isn’t this why stars have twitter and facebook?

    • iheartjacksparrow says:

      My thoughts exactly. I can’t remember the last time I sent a letter to anyone.

    • Sweet Dee says:

      Right! I don’t judge her for not reading it, I judge people who send it and think it is actually getting read.

  28. oliveo says:

    In a time when fans reach out to their favorite celebs via Twitter, Instagram, etc., I’m sure fan mail doesn’t get half the attention it used to. Maybe we could forgive another celeb for this kind of discovery, but at the height of a backlash, this is no good for Taylor. I can totally imagine this happening to J Law and her being like, “I’m so sorry, I’ll buy all my fans nachos,” but Taylor Swift’s team has zero spin power right now.

  29. j.eyre says:

    I am quite interested in the – ring? – on the cover. It looks like seed pearls on illusion thread. But then there seems to be a seed pearl on her index finger or is that the chair? If it is a solitary ring, I like it a lot.

  30. Izzy says:

    That description of her godawful home decor is going to give me nightmares for WEEKS.

  31. some bitch says:

    Not gonna lie, her penthouse sounds like my personal hell.

  32. TheOneAndOnlyOnly says:

    Interesting story celt lady, and Gloria Estafan has more talent in her fingernails than this overexposed toneless little screecher has in her entire body; Fundamentally, she’s a hypocrite and a fake, Other sites I’ve read were much harsher – stating that she’s a fake and that she and her team mostly want to cash in before she inevitably fades out.

  33. erika says:

    oh boy…. i wonder if drug store sales are down as well because every single time i walk into walgreens BAM there she is! not on mag cover (well, yeah, in the magazine aisle) but on Walgreen’s coupon flyer, a Cover Girl product stand, the damn tampon aisle “I’m Swifty and I use Kotex for those personal moments” (joke) but damn it, can she not be EVERWHERE!

    the mail thing? ohhhhh i’d been PISSED if I found out Ricky Schroeder from Silver Spoons had trashed my fan mail and the pic I took at 8 yrs old of me with my back to the camera, head turned looking ahead over my right shoulder as I blew him a kiss….

    at least have an office temp jot down addresses and send these poor snively chicks a signed photo….

    see? all this cutesy, nice, romance girl crap is her image and hardly, i think of how she operates in real life…

    whatev just give me some privacy, a tay tay free walgreens store…

  34. Nibbi says:

    it bugs me that i care enough even to comment, but i still don’t think getting big obvious fake boobs doesn’t really gel with innocent and sweet and pure and fresh and stuff. bleh

  35. Sweet Dee says:

    I don’t really think I can throw shade for her not reading her letters, I would not want to read thousands of pages of repetitive praising crap, either.

    But who does this? I had a bona fide wall-covering obsession with Hanson in my teens and never sent fan mail. What do these kids think they’re going to do with it? Save it and cherish it forever? Come on.

  36. Shy says:

    It’s hilarious with fan mail. But I can’t blame Taylor for it. I blame those stupid people who write those letters.

    What do they expect? Celebrities like Bieber or Taylor Swift, 1D receive thousands of letters every week. Do those fans believe that artists have nothing to do but to read 2-3 thousands of letters every day between work? Why would they read it? They open letter full of glitter and stickers and then they read: “Oh Taylor I love you so much”. And? And those celebrities are not 13-15 to enjoy it. Why write letters?

    I was actually always wondering that happens to all those kind of letters. They obviously can’t keep them forever. They will need like few storages for that. NOW WE KNOW. They just threw them away in dumpster. Good for them. And now all those fans will officially know, that celebrity (Swift or Bieber) has no access to fan letters. Some members stuff will open them and then threw away.

    I wonder – why even open them? They probably don’t and lied so it wouldn’t seem so disrespectful to those silly fans.

  37. MooFly says:

    If I were to Tweet something “questionable” to Taylor Swift’s verified Twitter, would she sue me?

  38. Lexi says:

    I dont think that celebs really do read fan mail, i bet they hire someone else too

  39. Maritza says:

    It’s possible any of her assistants got tired of answering letters and just said the hell with it and threw them in a dumpster.

  40. Nina W says:

    It’s disappointing to read so many people harshing on the fan mail writers, probably children, maybe in hospitals and stuff, come on, People have a right to their dreams and heroes and if they write fan letters they should be respected even if their hero-worship is naive. Shame on Taylor and her team for this mistake. Loyal fans should never be taken for granted.

  41. Xantha says:

    That entire article is just one big eyeroll. She is so dense. While she has been subjected to some ugly slutshaming how many guys she’s dated is not the root of the problem people have with her.

    I see it being boiled down to two things: A) She approaches love with the maturity of a 14 year old who’s never been kissed and B) A few of these relationships were nothing more than publicity stunts and there are people who are media savvy enough to see that. People aren’t going to have a lot of pity for someone who agrees to be in a fake relationship.

    Oh and you can’t complain about tabloids while still giving them gossip nuggets to feed off on. You don’t want them to think you’re boy crazy? Write more songs that aren’t about guys and release them as singles. And don’t say you won’t talk about your love life and then fetch one of your minions to do it. If you think that makes your hands stay clean then you’re completely wrong. If you’re going to do that, do it yourself. Admit that you can be a bitch and that you’re not always the victim. A little self awareness can go a long way.

  42. kibbles says:

    I realize that she can’t read every piece of fan mail, but the action of throwing away a ton of unopened fan mail is insulting to her fans. I will never be famous, but I imagine that if I became a rich celebrity, I would want to respond to as much fan mail as possible and even those I did not reply to, I would want them to receive something like a letter written by a minion running the fan club or a signed photo. When I was in high school, I wrote to celebrities and there are stars out there kind enough to respond. I received autographed photos from Elijah Wood, Rupert Grint, and Kenneth Branagh along with autographs from “celebrities” in classical music. Branagh even sent a signed letter. Of course, none of these celebs receive as much fan letter as Swift, but I wonder how many fan mail she actually reads nowadays. I have a feeling it isn’t a lot.

  43. Nudgie says:

    She seems to be the next Dolly Parton – starting out as a demure, sincere, hard-working singer/songwriter that morphed into a caricature (in spite of her talent) of herself.

    I don’t know if Taylor is that talented (Dolly has a HUGE RACK……of CDs and DVDs at music stores) – only time will tell.