Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t happy with her recent show of support for Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy. A known Donald Trump supporter with a somewhat vitriolic history with some of Swift’s fandom, Portnoy had the red carpet rolled out for him during the final leg of “The Eras Tour.” According to details shared by Portnoy in a video, Swift’s family — brother Austin Swift and mother Andrea Swift — enriched his experience by meeting him in his V.I.P. seats. Andrea, according to Portnoy, met him with “a real hug, like almost teary” and expressed her support for him because, “I think people have made s**t up about you.” Meanwhile, Austin brought Portnoy a personal note from the singer herself.
Thanks to @taylorswift13 and team for an incredible night at Eras Tour. pic.twitter.com/ZujQkLKSdR
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) October 20, 2024
The note, which Portnoy showed in the video partially to dunk on a Swift fan who’d previously proclaimed on TikTok that Swift and her camp would never willingly associate with him, read: “Dave, I’m so happy to have you at the show tonight.” He continued, “I want to say thank you for always being so supportive, so loyal, for having my back when a lot of people didn’t. I hope you have a blast tonight. Love, Taylor [heart], Songwriter/Feline enthusiast.”
Portnoy concluded the video by urging fans to “practice love” instead of ranting without knowing what they’re talking about. Now, Swift’s fandom is expressing their dissatisfaction with the pop star.
Taylor Swift’s fans call her out for associating with Portnoy
Taylor Swift’s fans have always expressed their dissatisfaction about her public associations, especially when they could threaten her personal brand. First, it was Matty Healy, then it was Brittany Mahomes, and now, it’s Dave Portnoy’s turn. “Taylor apparently wrote dave portnoy a letter and woah, i never thought i’d see such a huge swing and miss from her. like? what is the thinking here????” tweeted one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter. A second fan honed in on Portnoy’s affiliation with Donald Trump. “Taylor Swift wrote Dave Portnoy — a loud and vocal Trump supporter that is anti everything Taylor claim she supports — a letter thanking him and praising him. Lmao. okay girl,” they wrote.
Even fans who don’t usually join the convo felt the need to join the fray. “I usually don’t say anything about people who get taylor notices or who she hangs out w and stuff but like DAVE PORTNOY? he never shouldve gotten the letter and stuff like it’s so fu**ed up,” tweeted one fan. Meanwhile, another fan accused Swift, who publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, as being hypocritical. “Y’all are really surprised Taylor Swift is friends with Dave Portnoy? She’s BEEN saying one thing and doing another and y’all been praising her for doing bare minimum sh*t,” they tweeted.
