Taylor Swift fans who believe she might be queer have sparked a spirited online discussion about it—thanks to the placement of some books.
Known as "Gaylor," it's a theory among some of her fans who have speculated for years about the singer's sexuality. Despite being a huge advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, recently shut down discussion about it once and for all.
Following a New York Times opinion piece published in January, which theorized about her sexuality, an unnamed source close to Swift told CNN it was "invasive, untrue and inappropriate."
But that hasn't stopped the "GaylorSwift" thread on Reddit having a field day after someone spotted some books about Swift had been placed near an LGBTQ+ book titled, Queer Villains of Myth and Legend at a shop in Australia.
Riverbend Books shared an image of the Swift books on display to its Instagram stories, with some eagle-eye fans noticing there was a puzzle book near them, speculating that was another reference to the singer, who is known for dropping easter eggs for fans on her social media, albums and music videos.
"This is...so interesting if intentional lol. I need to know the thoughts of who set up the display," wrote one person on the thread.
Another added: "I think it might be - also has a puzzlemaster book next to it, which fits into the whole swiftie easter egg codebreaker vibe. It's like they've taken all the big stereotypes/rumours about Taylor from the Internet and just popped them on there."
And a third wrote: "As a Gaylor who works in the book industry - I LOVE IT!"
Other people also shared that they had spotted Swift-related books at LGBTQ+ bookshops.
"Funnily enough I was at the queer book shop in the pride centre of my city (also in Australia) and spotted her in there too," they wrote.
Newsweek contacted Riverbend Books and Swift's representatives by email for comment.
Swift also addressed speculation about her sexuality in the liner notes for her album, 1989 (Taylor's Version).
She wrote how the constant chatter about her dating life made her decide "to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships."
"If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn't sensationalize or sexualize that, right? I would learn later on that people could and people would," Swift wrote.
The singer has long used her platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ people, including during one of the Chicago shows of her record-breaking Eras tour during Pride Month 2023.
"I'm looking out tonight, I'm seeing so many incredible individuals who are living authentically and beautifully, and this is a safe space for you," Swift said to the crowd. "This is a celebratory space for you. One of the things that makes me feel so prideful is getting to be with you and watching you interact with each other, being so loving and so thoughtful and so caring."
She added: "Being with you during Pride Month, getting to sing the words to 'You Need To Calm Down' where there are lyrics like, 'Can you just not step on his gown?' or, 'Shade never made anybody less gay,' and you guys are screaming those lyrics. Such solidarity. Such support of one another and such encouraging, beautiful acceptance and peace and safety. And I wish that every place was safe and beautiful for people of the LGBTQ+ community."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
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