Taylor Swift attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival - "Miss Americana" Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre on January 23, 2020 in Park City, Utah.
Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesOn Thursday, the Democratic Party of Virginia posted and then pulled down "Swifties Against Youngkin" merchandise from their web store.
The move follows Terry McAuliffe -- the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor -- running ads across Facebook, Instagram and Google starting Tuesday that highlighted his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin's connection to the sale of Taylor Swift's masters back in June 2019. Youngkin was the co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, which helped back Scooter Braun's infamous purchase of Swift's Big Machine master recordings. The digital ads included photos of Swift and the hashtag #WeStandWithTaylor.
"Did you know that Republican candidate for Governor, Glenn Youngkin, helped buy Taylor Swift's masters out from under her when he was co-CEO of Carlyle Group?" one of the targeted ads states.
Piggybacking off the ads, the Democratic Party of Virginia started selling hats, mugs and buttons with the phrase "Swifties Against Youngkin" emblazoned on them in magenta writing, as reported by Washingtonian magazine on Thursday. A screenshot of the merch was tweeted Friday (Oct. 8) by Mediate reporter Katherine Higgins.
There's no word yet why the merch was pulled, but back in February 2017, Swift filed a series of trademarks for the word "Swifties" -- the nickname for her fanbase.
Swift's spokeswoman has not responded to requests to comment about the singer/songwriter's unwitting involvement in the Virginia gubernatorial race.
In a statement to Billboard about McAuliffe's Swiftie-targeting ad campaign, Democratic Party of Virginia spokesman Manuel Bonder said: "No matter the industry, Youngkin has shown he would rip off anyone for a profit. What happened here is a continuation of Glenn Youngkin’s abhorrent track record of shipping jobs overseas, raising rents on seniors, and harming working families across our country. When it comes to Taylor Swift's music: What did Glenn know and when did he know it? Virginians deserve answers."
For his part, Youngkin rep Christian Martinez responded: “Terry McAuliffe has reached the stage of desperation in his campaign where he’s rolling out the most baseless attacks to see what sticks. It’s a pathetic fall that could only be achieved by a 43-year political hack.”
Swift is now re-recording her first six records as a response to the sale of her master recordings, beginning with the April release of Fearless (Taylor's Version) and continuing Nov. 12 with Red (Taylor's Version).
NEWS
A$AP Rocky has revealed that it took years of persistence before Tim Burton agreed to create the cover artwork for his upcoming album, Don’t Be Dumb. The rapper reflected on how the unlikely collaboration finally came together during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday.
Going into detail about the process, Rocky confessed that he “basically had to stalk and harass him for a few years” before things clicked. He explained, “I reached out and told him I would love to hang out, play him some vibes and just connect. I ended up going to Malibu while he was on a break, and he was feeling it. I played him an early version of the album and he really liked it. That’s when I asked, ‘Do you think you might want to do the illustration for this?’ He was open to it, but then suddenly he had Wednesday and Beetlejuice 2 going on. I realized this was going to take a lot longer than I thought.”
A$AP Rocky went on to describe a moment that really stuck with him during that visit. “While I was there, I noticed a sketch sitting on the table and asked if he drew it,” he said. “He told me that every morning he and his daughter work on drawings together. He starts one, then she comes in and finishes it or changes it. It’s something they practice daily. I saw it as their bond, and to me, that felt priceless.”
On Tuesday, A$AP Rocky also released a double music video for his tracks “WHISKEY” and “BLACK DEMARCO.” Tim Burton appears in the visual and contributed multiple illustrations that tie into the project.
Alongside the release of the “WHISKEY” and “BLACK DEMARCO” video, Rocky officially unveiled the Don’t Be Dumb World Tour. The run will include 42 dates across North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom, with shows scheduled throughout 2026.
