Musician Dave Grohl and Taylor Swift during the 2008 Clive Davis Pre-GRAMMY party at the Beverly … [+]
Dave Grohl and Taylor Swift both played live in London over the weekend, and Grohl appears to have criticized Swift on stage, sparking backlash from Swift’s dedicated fanbase, the Swifties.
During the Foo Fighters’ Saturday show at London Stadium, Grohl implied that Taylor Swift, who was playing at Wembley Stadium on the other side of the city, does not play live.
Grohl mentioned Swift’s Eras Tour on stage, and joked, “I tell you, man, you don’t want to suffer the wrath of Taylor Swift,” seemingly referring to the Swifties reputation of being fiercely defensive of their favorite pop star.
Grohl went on to say, “We like to call our tour the ‘Errors Tour.’ We’ve had more than a few eras, and more than a few f**king errors as well. Just a couple.”
Grohl paused, before cheekily concluding, “That’s because we actually play live.”
Online, a video clip of Grohl’s commentary went viral, sparking angry and defensive commentary from Swifties, who expressed disappointment in Grohl.
Some pointed out that Grohl has praised Swift in the past.
Other commentators came to Grohl’s defense, noting that Grohl was likely referring to Swift’s use of backing tracks for her Eras Tour.
Some pointed out that the Foo Fighters singer had good reason to criticize Swift, as Grohl’s 17-year-old daughter, Violet, was cyber-bullied by a horde of Swifties after she posted about Swift’s infamous use of her private jet.
Violet was allegedly sent death threats for daring to criticize the singer — Swift did not speak up or ask her fans to stop the bullying.
Swift is far from the only wealthy celebrity with a penchant for flying private (nor is she the worst offender) but her jet use came under scrutiny after her flights were tracked by college student Jack Sweeney, who runs multiple social media accounts monitoring private jet usage.
The flight paths of Swift’s plane were even animated into a video clip to highlight the excessive emissions.
Swift’s legal team responded by threatening Sweeney with a cease-and-desist letter saying Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies” if Sweeney did not stop his “stalking and harassing behavior.”
A billionaire threatening a college student with legal action clashed against Swift’s relatable “girl next door” persona, and commentators called the pop star out.
Swift’s private jet use has since become something of a meme, with many pointing out that the excessive, casual flights taken by celebrities make a mockery of individual efforts to reduce emissions — what’s a carbon footprint compared to the carbon canyons carved out by the wealthy?
A recent climate change protest from Just Stop Oil targeted a UK airfield full of private planes, spraying them with orange paint; Taylor Swift’s jet was thought to be in the vicinity of the protest, giving the stunt a massive visibility boost.
Taylor Swift appears to have subtly responded to Dave Grohl’s comments, speaking out on stage at Wembley Stadium.
“Every one of my band members, every single one of our crew, my band — who’s gonna be playing live for you for three and a half hours tonight — they deserve this so much,” Swift said.
“And so does every one of my fellow performers,” she added. “And you just gave that to us so generously. We will never forget it.”
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