Another day, another new variant hits the scene.

This time, however, Taylor Swift’s once-loyal fans are finding it hard to get excited. They’re beginning to question her approach to releasing music and other actions.

“The fact that she is scheming and plotting so much to try to scrape her way to number one, that is what is embarrassing to me,” a self-described and weary “Swiftie” expressed in a recent TikTok critique.

Recently, the pop sensation has faced several charges. She has been accused of leveraging her fan base to overshadow other artists, faced scrutiny over her alleged role in Blake Lively’s legal issues with Justin Baldoni, and been criticized for her silence on ICE and President Trump’s immigration policies.

For years, Swift’s most ardent supporters, who have fiercely defended her against detractors, would go to great lengths to justify her actions. Yet, in recent months, their unwavering faith seems to be waning.

A YouGov poll recently revealed that Swift’s popularity has taken a hit over the past year. Her approval rating, which stood at 54 percent in 2024, has now slipped to 46.7 percent.

Fans have long defended Taylor Swift against critics. But in recent months, the rose-colored glasses have started to come off

The major turning points for many were her alleged 2021 feud with Olivia Rodrigo over songwriting credits, and her failure to speak out in 2024 when ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn was trolled following the release of her album The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD).

But doubts have escalated still in recent months, with Swift ridiculed over the release of her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (TLOAS), in October and the endless additional releases of ‘variants’ that followed. 

Swift has mastered the art of maintaining the number one position on the charts in part by periodically releasing variations and extended editions of her albums to keep sales and streaming figures high.

She dropped two ‘special’ editions of TTPD the same day Billie Eilish released her album Hit Me Hard and Soft in May 2024. Some took it as a calculated move to retain her place at the top of the charts.

It was a similar story across the pond the following month, when Charli XCX looked set to claim a UK number one for her seminal album Brat. But when Swift announced the release of six deluxe reissues of TTPD available only in the UK, Charli XCX was forced to accept the number two spot.

Now, fans are convinced she is coming for Bad Bunny.

The savvy businesswoman released the music video for Opalite – the second single from TLOAS, which originally debuted at number two – on Apple Music and Spotify on February 6 before dropping it on YouTube on February 8, the day Bad Bunny performed at the Super Bowl.

The move angered some who claimed she had an abundance of dates to release it instead, having shot the video in London back in November.

‘The fact she waited until the Super Bowl to drop it and overshadow a Latino artist during such a pivotal moment in his career and for Latinos in general while the US goes down in flames due to ICE persecuting immigrants is insanely tone deaf,’ one disgruntled fan wrote on Reddit.

Fans are convinced Swift is coming for Bad Bunny after dropping the Opalite video on YouTube the same day as his Super Bowl performance – the video went live on Apple Music and Spotify just two days before

A source told the Daily Mail that ‘It is competitive, but far from hostile. She loves Bad Bunny’

And it didn’t stop there. Just nine days after Bad Bunny’s performance, Swift dropped multiple versions of Opalite. The Chris Lake Remix was released on February 17, followed by the BUNT, Ely Oaks and Skream remixes the following day. These came less than a month after an acoustic version published on January 21.

Some alleged it was Swift’s attempt to cut short the renewed attention the Puerto Rican star was receiving. However, Bad Bunny’s DTMF – the title track to his Grammy-winning 2025 album Debí Tirar Más Fotos – leapt to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100.

And any talk of attempting to thwart Bad Bunny’s topping the charts is reportedly nonsense.

‘The truth is, Taylor is competitive and knows that chart battles are great for the industry because it keeps fans engaged,’ an insider told the Daily Mail. ‘It isn’t hostile at all, but may seem that way to people who weren’t around in the 1990s when it was even more competitive and people actually had to sell the records. So, it is competitive, but far from hostile. She loves Bad Bunny.’

The insider added that competing with others should be seen as ‘Taylor’s way of showing that she respects them.’

‘She wouldn’t bother if she didn’t think they were doing something substantial,’ they added.

But getting the fans to buy this explanation might take some convincing, in part because of her deafening silence in the wake of the ICE raids, something Bad Bunny (real name, Benito Ocasio) and myriad celebrities have been vocal about.

At this year’s Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny called for ‘ICE out’ during a politically-charged acceptance speech. He also excluded the US from his world tour over fears that, as a prominent Latino musician, his fans could be subjected to immigration raids outside the venues.

Swift, for her part, has stayed silent.

She has seemingly refrained from reacting to the use of music from TLOAS in several social media posts from the Trump administration – a somewhat odd move for a star who has previously sued over the unsanctioned use of her music and once defied her own team who advised her against getting involved in political matters because she felt compelled to ‘be on the right side of history.’

Fans might need some convincing in order to believe that it wasn’t malicious, especially amid her deafening silence around prominent ICE raids, something Bad Bunny and myriad celebrities have been vocal about

But perhaps her decision to lay low in recent months is in part due to being dragged into Blake Lively’s messy legal tussle with her It Ends with Us costar Justin Baldoni

Yet she found the time this month to plead with the US patents office to block a home goods firm from trying to trademark the phrase ‘Swift Home.’

Swift, represented by TAS Rights Management LLC, issued a notice on February 11 claiming the logo design is similar to Swift’s trademarked cursive signature and that it creates a ‘false association’ to the singer that could lead customers to believe Swift had endorsed its products.

Clearly not willing to fight the pop megastar, the company withdrew its application five days later.

The move was branded ‘so embarrassing for her,’ by one Reddit user, while another wrote, ‘being so silent about issues that matter this whole time but then coming out of her little hobbit hole to try and slam some small homeware company for having the same last name as her speaks volumes of how much she DOES NOT CARE about real issues and only perceived “problems” that are Taylor-centric.’

But perhaps Swift’s decision to lay low in recent months is in part due to being dragged into Lively’s messy legal tussle with her It Ends with Us costar Baldoni.

Lively, 38, accused Baldoni, 42, of sexual harassment and fostering a toxic work environment in a shocking lawsuit filed on New Year’s Eve 2024.

He later retaliated with an explosive $400 million countersuit against the actress and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, among others, accusing them of attempting to tarnish his reputation and claiming she used her bond with ‘mega celebrity friend’ Swift to take control of the film, which he also directed. All parties have strenuously denied the allegations against them.

Swift, who allowed her 2020 song My Tears Ricochet to be used in the movie, has tried to distance herself from the drama.

Swift and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, ‘are doing everything to stay away from the Baldoni and Lively drama,’ according to a second insider who said she is occupying herself with ‘setting up some wedding ideas’

A spokesperson for the prolific singer-songwriter previously said she had no creative involvement in the film, but unsealed text messages show Lively asking Swift to endorse a revised version of the script she was proposing for the Colleen Hoover adaptation. Swift allegedly replied: ‘I’ll do anything for you !!’

Other messages allegedly show them plotting to help Lively usurp Baldoni, with Swift referring to him as a ‘b**ch’ who got out his ‘tiny violin,’ according to materials filed in the lawsuit. 

In another message, Swift allegedly wrote: ‘By the way, if Justin was strategic, he would be like “No Taylor Swift in the trailer.” Because that gives you more power over the film, that’s your ally, not his.’

Lively allegedly replied: ‘Get yourself a best friend who thinks like the actual Roman Empire.’

The fallout is clearly a blow for Swift, who is used to controlling her own narrative. So it is perhaps no surprise that she and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, ‘are doing everything to stay away from the Baldoni and Lively drama,’ according to a second insider who said she is instead occupying herself with ‘setting up some wedding ideas.’

‘They are trying to stay away from major decisions and aren’t looking to address any controversies,’ the insider added. ‘Sure, they are aware of it, and it is a nuisance, but the move now is not to add any fuel to the fire.’