It is no secret that the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has had a lot of past relationships, since she has famously used these experiences to write some of her most popular songs. She received backlash for being so open about these relationships, and disappeared from the public eye after her “1989” tour, until she released the album Reputation in 2017. Even after becoming more private about her relationships, she still continued to receive hate, this time for trying to keep her personal life private.

Recently, the hashtag “Respect Taylor Swift” trended on twitter when two Netflix shows made comments about her and her relationships. These comments were made on the shows “Ginny and Georgia” and “Degrassi: Next Class.” 

In an episode of “Ginny and Georgia,” the character Ginny said, “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.” 

And the line, “Taylor Swift made an entire career off of her exes” was said in the show “Degrassi: Next class.”

Both of these comments were brought to the attention of Taylor Swift and her fanbase. After the comment began to receive attention, Taylor Swift quickly responded to the personal dig made on ¨Ginny and Georgia¨ with a tweet. In part of her response addressing ¨Ginny and Georgia ¨she said, ¨Hey Ginny and Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back.¨ She also called out Netflix directly, who had previously produced a documentary about the star, stating ¨Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn’t look cute on you.¨

Taylor Swift fans, or ¨swifties,¨ rushed to their idols defense and were quick to post on Twitter and Tik Tok defending her. In a tweet, one fan said ¨Reminder that people can date [whoever] they want. Last time I checked Taylor Swift was more famous and talented than many of you misogynists will ever be.”

Fans made mention of Taylor Swift´s song, ¨The Man¨ from her 2019 album Lover. The song explains that if she was a man, then she would not receive the same hate for being open about her relationships and writing songs about them. Swifties also referenced a previous interview, where Taylor Swift points out the double standard between her and other male artists writing about their relationships. In the interview, Taylor explained that male pop-singers like Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars also use their relationships in their songs, but do not receive the same backlash that she does. 

One fan said, ¨Taylor swift did write about her exes just like Ed Sheeran and Shawn [have] done but no one talks about them. Why? [because] they are men?” In a tweet.

While fans were focused on defending Taylor Swift, they also were in search of someone to blame. Some chose to hold the actress Antonia Gentry, who plays Ginny and said the line, accountable. The actress received backlash on social media despite the show’s writers being responsible for the controversial line.

Some Taylor Swift fans have chosen to ¨boycott¨ the shows in response to the comments; And they will continue to be vocal in defending the pop sensation.