‘To say that I’m disappointed would be the truth’: Many POC Swifties are not happy that Taylor Swift is dating Matty Healy

As romance rumors continue to intensify around Taylor Swift and Matty Healy, Swifties that identify as people of color are criticizing Swift’s decision to get involved with The 1975 frontman — especially in light of his more recent, degrading and racist remarks.

There’s renewed interest in Healy’s allegedly anti-semitic, Islamophobic, misogynistic and racist past, and content creators are now reminding audiences of the offensive comments he made about rapper Ice Spice just three months ago.

In February 2023, Healy appeared on the podcast entitled The Adam Friedland Show, during which he, along with the show’s hosts Adam Friedland and Nick Mullen, joked about rapper Ice Spice being “one of the Inuit Spice Girls,” a “chubby Chinese lady” and “a f****** Eskimo” in addition to including a series of offensive accents.

The episode was allegedly offensive enough to be removed from both Apple and Spotify.

Creators are also skeptical of Healy’s “kinda, sorta” apology for his derogatory Ice Spice comments during a recent 1975 show in Auckland, New Zealand.

@coupdemain

@the1975’s matty healy apologising to @ice spice in auckland / new zealand… #the1975 #mattyhealy #the1975live #the1975attheirverybest #the1975tour #icespice #rattyhealy

♬ original sound – Coup De Main

“I just feel a bit bad, and I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you,” Healy addressed the audience, which some people have noted sounded more like a vague, all-encompassing apology for his past offenses. “Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a d***. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry.”

“I love him, I do. I am such a fan. But this does not meet the minimum requirements to be considered an apology,” @dogzshouldvote_ wrote.

“Misconstrued?? He was being straight up racist wtf,” @bamboo_bff replied.

On May 12, Jordan, a Black content creator who goes by the TikTok username @adhdwhileblack, shared her disappointment surrounding the alleged Healy-Swift union.

“To say that I’m disappointed would be the truth. To say that I’m shocked would be a lie,” she begins. “And for anyone white woman that has ever questioned any Black or person of color’s distrust in you, this is why. Because you are nobody’s ally.”

Jordan goes on to assert that this is a “major L” for Swifties — and that “it’s even worse if it’s PR” because Swift could’ve picked literally anybody else.

“This is not ‘bad boy core,’ OK? This is, like, racist core,” she continues. “I just could not be more confused by this and just, like, concerned about it. And to all the Swifties whose main concern is that he’s greasy and sweaty and gross and an alcoholic, like, can you please dig your head out of your a**, please?”

On May 12, Olivia Layne (@olivialayne6) pointed out the fact that for someone so “image conscious,” dating Healy feels like an ill-advised decision.

“And I think that’s why I didn’t believe the rumors at first because Taylor is a very smart businesswoman, so for her to be with someone like Matty so publicly, felt like a really dumb choice to me,” Olivia says.

“But again, I’m not totally shocked because for years, Taylor has been criticized for her white feminism and her inability to care about things that don’t directly have to do with her,” she continues. “She’s a grown a** woman. She can date whoever she wants. I don’t f****** know these people, but I’m just saying from an optics perspective, this is disappointing. It’s disappointing and embarrassing.”

Olivia notes that if Swift was on the receiving end of these ethnic slurs, she’d call it out in a heartbeat.

“She would’ve gone off about sexism, misogyny and how men casually degrade women and how it’s not OK,” she adds. “But she’s OK dating a guy who does it to other women.”

“This is why I side eye her ‘I’m so POLITICAL and CARE” from Miss Americana I just can’t. This is so bad,’ @ladierufio wrote in response to Olivia’s video.

“also gotta hold boygenius and phoebe accountable. a lot of hypocrisy going on and its sad to see,” @gjalda also commented, referencing musician Phoebe Bridgers and boygenius, the band she’s part of. Healy, who’s performed alongside Bridgers multiple times, recently joined her onstage during Swift’s The Eras Tour stop in Nashville, Tennessee on May 6.

On May 15, Christina, (@whatsappauntie) raised similar concerns about Swift’s decision to romantically associate herself with a man who has a racially insensitive past, and argued that she’s not a “social or political activist.”

@whatsappauntie

She definitely speaks up because she feels like she has to but thats what happens when you gain a huge platform. But, at the end of the day, shoving away your POC fans isn’t all that great either #taylorswift #mattyhealy1975

♬ original sound – christina

“She does not talk about social and political issues unless it’s number one, advantageous to her, and number two, it’s in defense of herself,” Christina starts. Notice she only started her whole feminism thing when people in the industry started attacking her for, example, not writing her own songs (she does) or she put that thing in the Miss Americana doc.”

A significant part of the documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 23, 2020, focused on Swift’s seemingly impassioned political activism.

“Like, the disappointment comes in when, like, you could pick anyone else to throw caution to the wind with and you chose him…If it was any other celebrity, the same thing would happen. Let’s be real now, OK?” Christina adds.

Christina’s video has garnered thoughts from fellow Swifties who are less-than-pleased with the “Midnights” singer’s lack of accountability.

“It’s wild that she openly engages w/ fan spaces. We know she sees stuff. So does she NOT see this, or DOES and ignores it? Both are disheartening,” @thewinterizzy replied.

“i know by definition she’s not some kind of intersectional icon but she has put herself out there as a feminist. people should hold her accountable,” @noonebutanna wrote.

Concerned Swifties are also referencing the time in which the rocker, in 2016, said that dating Swift would be “a de-masculating, emasculating thing.” As eyebrows continue to raise, Swift and Healy appear to be growing even closer — questionable PR stunt or not.

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