The release of Taylor Swift's eleventh studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department," has sparked a flurry of opinions from fans and critics alike. The 31-track record has received a mixed bag of reviews, with some professional critics not quite taken with the album's lyricism and production by Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.
A psychiatrist who's also a fan of Taylor Swift has come forward saying her critical opinion of the album led to a backlash from the singer's most ardent supporters. Dr. Claire (@drclaireo) took to TikTok to express that she feels she's been "canceled" by the Swiftie community for her critique of the album.
"I'm a psychiatrist and I'm currently being canceled by the Swifties for making a post criticizing the most recent album," she revealed in her TikTok video. Dr. Claire pointed out that the intense reaction she encountered highlights the issue of parasocial relationships.
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"I have been shocked by the comments that have been left on my post," she admitted. "The amount of people who are commenting like they're intimate friends with her, know what goes through her head, [and] are there with her writing her songs is alarming to me. Maybe we do understand some things about her through her music and through what she posts and how she communicates to her fans, but we do not know her."
Critics have often pointed fingers at the extreme zeal of Taylor Swift's fanbase, with some suggesting that the intense parasocial relationships fans form with the singer can be unhealthy. A parasocial relationship is essentially a one-sided bond where fans become deeply invested in a celebrity's life despite the star being largely unaware of them.
In the comments section of a discussion about this phenomenon, self-proclaimed Swifties chimed in to acknowledge that some within their community might need to take a step back. "As a Swiftie, I have to say a lot of them need to go touch some grass," admitted one fan. "They expect you to explain yourself if you don't loveher work," revealed another. "It's wild."
"I've been a fan since 06, and I was told by a Swifty that not liking the new album means I lack empathy like WHAT? " exclaimed a third. Others concurred with the original post's sentiment about not truly knowing the artist without personal interaction. "I'm a swiftie, the amount of times I've had to remind people that she is a stranger is alarming," one commenter noted.
"Omg fr like ppl get so mad when you don't interpret her music in the same way that they assume she meant it.. how do you know what she meant..? ? " another questioned. "I only have 33k followers on TT so literally a grain of sand in the influencer world & even I have some odd interactions w/followers who think they know me," another user commented. "Cannot IMAGINE what it's like on this scale."
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