Taylor Swift is opening up about the most-talked about moments in her career.
While speaking with Variety to promote her upcoming Netflix documentary, “Miss Americana,” the pop star, 30, got candid about everything from her famous feud with Kanye West to whether she regrets starring in “Cats.”
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a decade since Kanye jumped on the MTV VMAs stage back in 2009 — the moment which ignited one of the most public feuds of all time. Though Swift rarely has spoken about the moment and the drama that ensued in the years that followed, the singer agreed that the episode was important enough to be documented in “Miss Americana.”
“As a teenager who had only been in country music, attending my very first pop awards show, somebody stood up and sent me the message: ‘You are not respected here. You shouldn’t be here on this stage,'” Swift said. “That message was received, and it burrowed into my psyche more than anyone knew.”
She continued, “That can push you one of two ways: I could have just curled up and decided I’m never going to one of those events ever again, or it could make me work harder than anyone expects me to, and try things no one expected, and crave that respect– and hopefully one day get it.”
Also in the wide-ranging interview, Swift spoke about her now-infamous beef with music manager Scooter Braun over her masters. While the “Lover” singer didn’t elaborate much on the topic, she did touch upon the aftermath of her scathing speech at the Billboard Women in Music Awards last month where she targeted “toxic male privilege” in the music industry.
“Well, I do sleep well at night knowing that I’m right,” Swift said. “And knowing that in 10 years it will have been a good thing that I spoke about artists’ rights to their art, and that we bring up conversations like: Should record deals maybe be for a shorter term, or how are we really helping artists if we’re not giving them the first right of refusal to purchase their work if they want to?”
Meanwhile, the “You Need to Calm Down” songstress went on to talk about starring in “Cats,” which was ripped by critics and moviegoers alike. Despite the film’s poor reception, “Beautiful Ghosts,” the song Swift co-wrote for the film, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2020 Golden Globes. Although “Cats” was a flop, Swift expressed that she doesn’t regret working on the project.
“I’m happy to be here, happy to be nominated, and I had a really great time working on that weird-ass movie,” she said. “I’m not gonna retroactively decide that it wasn’t the best experience. I never would have met Andrew Lloyd Webber or gotten to see how he works, and now he’s my buddy. I got to work with the sickest dancers and performers. No complaints.”
However, when asked about what she thought the odds were of winning a Golden Globe, Swift said, “Not a shot. Not a single chance. Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”
Read more from Swift’s cover story here.
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