Taylor Swift has admitted she was humiliated when, three years ago, Kim Kardashian West called her a “snake” on Twitter during a kerfuffle between Swift and Kanye West over his track “Famous.”
The tweet sparked hashtags like “#TaylorSwiftIsCanceled” and “#TaylorSwiftIsASnake.”
In a new interview in the September issue of Vogue, Swift said it was a difficult thing to go through.
“A mass public shaming, with millions of people saying you are ‘canceled’ is a very isolating experience,” Swift said. “I don’t think there are that many people who can actually understand what it’s like to have millions of people hate you very loudly.
“When you say someone is canceled, it’s not a TV show. It’s a human being. You’re sending mass amounts of messaging to this person to either shut up, disappear, or it could also be perceived as, ‘kill yourself.’”
Swift said making music about it – the songs on her Reputation album – was cathartic. “It was the only way I could preserve my mental health and also tell the story of what it’s like to go through something so humiliating,” she explained.
Still, there were mixed emotions. "I’d feel like: That was horrible. Why did that have to happen? What am I supposed to take from this other than mass amounts of humiliation? And then five minutes later I’d think: I think I might be happier than I’ve ever been.”
She added: “We’re not going to go straight to gratitude with it. Ever. But we’re going to find positive aspects to it. We’re never going to write a thank-you note.”
Elsewhere in the Vogue interview, Swift talks about sexism in the music industry, her support for the LGBT community, and why she believes the forthcoming Lover is her favourite album yet.