﻿“F*cking hell, I am not being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.’” said Matty Healy back in 2016.
Now, it looks like Taylor Swift and the 1975’s frontman are officially dating,
and while some Swifties are excited that their idol has found happiness again, others are upset
because of all the controversies surrounding her new flame. Let’s break it down, shall we?
Taylor Swift and Matty Healy were first linked back in 2014 after the ‘Shake It Off’ singer
was spotted at the 1975’s show in New York City. The appearance came after Matty said
he and the star exchanged phone numbers. “I mean, bloody hell, what am I going to do? Go
out with Taylor Swift? She’s a sensation, I wouldn’t say no,” the Londoner said.
However, by 2016, the vocalist had some colorful things to say about Swift. “F*cking hell, I am not
being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.’ You know, ‘F*ck. That.’ That’s also a man thing, a demasculinating,
emasculating thing,” Matty revealed. Fast forward to April 2023, when Swift
and her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn, had split up. After the news broke, outlets reported
that the singer was still adjusting to single life and wasn’t even thinking about getting
into another relationship anytime soon. A month later, The Sun newspaper dropped
the bombshell news that the singer and Matty Healy are dating, and at first,
the information seemed far-fetched. Fans were like, ‘No way, she would never.’
Well, it seems Taylor would. “She and Matty are madly in love. It’s super-early days, but it feels
right. They first dated, very briefly, almost 10 years ago, but timings just didn’t work out,” an
insider shared. Since then, the lovebirds have been showing their affections in full force.
Now, let’s talk about why fans are concerned for their beloved Taylor.
Aside from the degrading comments Matty made in 2016, his most recent actions and past shenanigans
have led the Swifties to mobilize against him. Known these days for eating raw steak onstage and
generously handing out kisses to wide-eyed audience members, Healy positioned himself
as an agitator from day one. However, his decade-long quest to master provocative
showmanship has started to lean racist. During an appearance on The Adam Friedland Show
podcast, Matty managed to impersonate Japanese people working in concentration camps; degrade
the indigenous Scots language while combining it with the Scottish accent; and mock Hawaiian,
Inuit, and Chinese accents in an attempt to guess Bronx rapper Ice Spice’s heritage.
Yikes, and these weren’t the worst part of the episode… These are also just the tip of
the iceberg when it comes to all the shocking things the vocalist has ever done or said.
As a result, the Grammy winner’s supporters have penned an open letter asking Swift to
address Healy’s many controversies, resulting in the #SpeakUpNow campaign. Many Swifties who
are people of color have been showing their disappointment, branding the singer “another
wealthy, complicit white woman.” Some of the songwriter’s fans have even tweeted proof
of their order cancellations for the July re-release of Swift’s album ‘Speak Now.’
Matty later apologized to Ice Spice on stage, saying, “I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a
d—k. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry.” While he didn’t directly address other controversial
comments from the February 2023 podcast, he told the crowd he was embarrassed. “I feel a bit bad,
to be honest, because I feel like I’ve been a bit irresponsible,” Matty said.
The vocalist added that it would be very easy for him to say that he doesn’t understand how
famous he is and doesn't enjoy the fame. But reality is reality, and while Healy is someone
who enjoys making a joke out of everything, he’s realized that he often takes it too
far in front of too many people. After Matty made his public apology,
many chimed in saying that it was a half-baked apology, and that he didn’t really feel bad,
he was just trying to protect his image. And while fans have been fuming at Taylor for
her silence over the matter, the singer quietly made moves. On May 25th, Swift announced that
she’d collaborate with Ice Spice on a remix of the song ‘Karma.’ The blonde shared a photo of
her and the rapper, writing in the caption, “Um. SO much to tell you. I’m a massive fan of this
brilliant artist, and after getting to know her, I can confirm: she is THE ONE to watch.”
The timing was a bit fishy, so the news set the internet on a frenzy!
Some fans are skeptical of Swift’s decision to work with Ice Spice.
Now that it’s basically confirmed that the singer and Healy are dating, some speculate that Swift’s
collaboration is an attempt to damage control her boyfriend’s image rather than an example
of her supporting up-and-coming artists. Whether you believe it’s a PR stunt or not,
it sparked some pretty heated discourse between her fans online. “Taylor Swift failing to address
the racist comments Matt Healy made towards Ice Spice and then finding a way to profit off of
her with a new collab is a text book example of white woman feminism. It’s convenient,
manipulative and continues to shield and protect white men,” one person tweeted.
In the meantime, other Swifties have supported their idol, arguing that she’s a musician,
not an activist, and isn’t responsible for making a statement about every
human rights issue — or every problematic statement her friends or partners say.
“I find it amazing how they are always wanting to blame women for men’s attitudes,
and when it comes to Taylor it seems to get much worse,” another fan said.
Whether for Taylor and Matty’s benefit or to support a new artist, the motive behind the
‘Karma’ collaboration could be another mystery of the universe. What do you think about it?