Arguably, Taylor Swift was one of the biggest winners in the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards on Monday, the 26th of August and she used her massive platform to discuss and shed light on the rights and issues of the members of the LGBTQ+.
Taylor Swift Advocates
Firstly, she received the award for Video for Good for her GLAAD-directive song “You Need to Calm Down,” to which she handed the spotlight over to Todrick Hall, her co-executive producer.
But it was during her second win, the coveted Music Video of the Year award for “You Need to Calm Down,” Swift was quick to put the spotlight to gather fans to support the Equality Act.
“At the end of the video there was a petition and there still is a petition for the Equality Act which basically says we all deserve equal rights under the law. And I want to thank everyone who signed that petition because it now has half a million signatures which is five times the amount that it would need to warrant a response from The White House.”
She also took the time to thank her wonderful cast for the music video.
“I love my cast. I’m so grateful to everyone in the video. The ones who are here, the ones at home. Thank you. I love my co-executive producer. I’m so grateful to my co-director. Thank you to the fans for everything you do for us. Thank you for being the example that you are. I love you guys so much. Thank you!”
White House Responds
The White House was quick to respond that the current administration does not support the Equality Act Bill that Swift was calling fans to sign.
On the 27th of August, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere was asked to comment on Swift’s call to action. He clarified that albeit the Trump administration rejects discrimination, it does not support the Equality Act.
