Swiftie Rehab

“It was a agelong clip earlier radical stopped buying maine Taylor Swift merch for my birthday.” Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photo: Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images

For astir fractional her life, Martha harbored an obsessive attachment to Taylor Swift. (“Martha” is simply a pseudonym; similar astir of the sources successful the piece, she asked to talk connected the information of anonymity for fearfulness of being doxed.) She created galore Twitter and Instagram accounts dedicated to Swift, sharing pictures of everything from her squad to her feline Meredith, tagging the prima and her publicist successful each caption. But the 32-year-old deed a breaking constituent past May erstwhile Swift began dating the 1975 beforehand antheral Matty Healy. “Stuff astir his past behaviors and ‘edgelordness,’ came out,” Martha says, referencing an infamous podcast quality successful which Healy mocked Ice Spice’s ethnicity. “Everything since past conscionable felt similar a veil was being lifted, and I recovered myself connected the different broadside of Swiftism. Suddenly, it felt similar leaving a cult.”

Martha deleted her accounts, blocked Swift connected Spotify, and drove her merch down to the nearest Goodwill. But disconnecting from the satellite of her erstwhile favourite popular vocalist near her feeling adrift — until earlier this year, erstwhile the Reddit homepage suggested she articulation r/SwiftlyNeutral, a leafage for questioning Swifties similar herself. “I felt little alone,” says Martha. “It was liberating knowing radical cared much astir these issues than their idolatry.”

Describing itself arsenic a “neutral sub for casual listeners to full-blown stans to sermon arguable topics astir oregon involving Taylor Swift,” r/SwiftlyNeutral, which launched past December, has since expanded its purview to go some a forum for Swift-related grievances and a benignant of emotional-support radical for erstwhile hard-core Swifties trying to deprogram. Four months aft its launch, r/SwiftlyNeutral grew from respective 100 progressive users to 50,000, putting it successful the apical 3 percent of forums connected Reddit. After the merchandise of Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, it climbed different 7,000.

“None of the Taylor-centered Reddits let captious statement astir her,” says James (also a pseudonym), the 25-year-old creator down the page. When a instrumentality complained astir Swift’s private-jet usage successful 1 specified sub, a moderator deleted their comments, prompting different instrumentality to suggest creating a neutral forum. “I conscionable went for it,” James says, chalking up the sub’s caller popularity to Swiftian taste saturation, including her record-breaking Eras Tour and an endless proviso concatenation of albums, some rerecorded and new. “I deliberation a batch of radical were truly starting to get sick of her.”

After speechmaking immoderate of the constructive disapproval of Swift connected the sub-Reddit, James was inclined to consciousness the same. “I conscionable consciousness a small disillusioned with her now,” helium adds. “When we accidental ‘Eat the rich,’ Taylor is not an exception. Taylor has done galore fantastic things successful regards to charity, and I don’t privation to instrumentality distant from that; however, her pitchy use, her blatant currency grabs, and her horrible merch prime person go a small much glaring.”

The sub-Reddit encompasses a immense scope of Swift-questioning sentiments, including the products she sells connected her website (“$70 for a snowglobe? Are you for real?!”) and the ways her concerts person impacted lawmakers successful the Philippines. In 1 of the sub-Reddit’s aboriginal posts, a subordinate described the forum arsenic a “collective awakening.” But immoderate person handled the exodus from Taylor’s satellite worse than others.

“Horrified and Emotional,” 1 subordinate posted 4 months ago, aft Taylor was spotted eating with Brittany Mahomes. “I’m sobbing arsenic I’m unfollowing her connected everything. Thinking astir boxing up each my merch arsenic well. Someone archer maine if I’m being overdramatic …”

“How she dealt with the decease of a instrumentality during her performance successful Brazil did it for me. She truly is the manufacture of music. Ruthless and inhumane,” said different r/SwiftlyNeutral subordinate a fewer days later.

“Taylor Swift was my Santa Claus and I recovered retired she wasn’t real, truthful I had to turn up,” added another, with bitter earnestness.

Samantha (another pseudonym) checks successful connected the forum regular and understands the symptom of ditching Swift for a little parasocial poesy department. “I turned astir each of my friends into Swifties,” she says. “I made it my full personality.” But the 27-year-old began to wean herself disconnected the popular prima pursuing her ascent to supernova fame with the merchandise of Midnights. “A ample influx of toxic fans made the full assemblage worse,” Samantha says. It took a portion for her chap Swiftie friends to judge her indifference. “It was a agelong clip earlier radical stopped buying maine Taylor Swift merch for my birthday,” she says. After losing her Swift obsession, she present finds it hard to perceive to euphony astatine all: “I mislaid immoderate joy. No different creator rather hits the same.”

Like longtime Swift haters, r/SwiftlyNeutrals person precocious turned their attraction to the popular prima arsenic a politically ineffective spokesperson. “It does consciousness similar the individuality I created of her, particularly erstwhile I was a kid, fell through,” says 19-year-old Iman Rizwan, who believes that galore erstwhile fans successful Muslim communities similar hers “have felt the same,” pointing to the singer’s deficiency of effect connected Israel’s warfare successful Gaza. “Taylor has commended herself arsenic a performer for the radical and said that she would ever basal up for what’s right. What’s happening successful Palestine is atrocious, and her refusal to usage her almighty dependable is questionable.”

Crissa Renee, 30, different forum user, believes the tidal alteration against Swift represents a increasing disillusionment with the cult of personage astatine large. “I perfectly spot the masses recognizing that celebrities cannot beryllium trusted,” she says. “They are successful it for themselves, and they simply cannot subordinate to the conflict of different people. She herself did not spell from rags to riches.”

Which is wherefore immoderate Neutral Swifties felt a constituent of validation past week, erstwhile a leak of The Tortured Poets Department deed the net revealing lyrics that look to notation the tipping constituent for truthful galore questioning fans: Healy. That Swift would seemingly write an medium devoted to the man who helped rupture the enslaved for galore erstwhile fans makes Martha deliberation she made the close move. “I’ve seen immoderate of the lyrics, and they look pointed, similar she’s blaming her fans for forcing her retired of the relationship,” she told maine 2 days earlier the medium came out. But she said she inactive had nary plans to perceive to it: “I don’t person clip for anyone who has clip for an edgelord rat.”

On the time of its authoritative release, The Tortured Poet’s Department was mostly panned crossed the sub-Reddit, with members complaining that it needed “heavy editing” and that it “was made for her payment and nary 1 else’s.” Another said it reminded them of the Marvel multiverse, “full of lore and wholly impenetrable if you hadn’t already seen the archetypal 17 movies.” The medium seemed to animate carnal reactions, too, with 1 subordinate saying “the synths gave maine a migraine” and different noting, “put maine to slumber similar an ASMR constitution video.”

Yet arsenic erstwhile Swifties gleefully critiqued the album, immoderate began reacting arsenic fervently arsenic they had for her past releases. “Stans and antis are 2 sides of the aforesaid coin,” reasoned 1 poster amid a thread with hundreds of snubs. “Convincing a clump of antis to halt paying attraction to her volition beryllium astir arsenic hard arsenic convincing her stans to halt listening.”

Martha knows the struggle. Two days aft the album’s release, she emailed me: “OK, I caved lol.” For 48 hours, she had managed to abstain from Poets wholly until “all the gossip and the lore conscionable sucked maine consecutive backmost in.” This weekend, she heard the medium successful its entirety portion scrolling done the sub-Reddit. So was the playback worthy it? “No,” she says. “Listening to idiosyncratic who’s perpetually 15 has aged me. I’m pissed. But I conscionable couldn’t assistance myself.”