Taylor Swift has opened up about how she handles the intense scrutiny that comes with her “unmanageably big” fame, admitting she sometimes enjoys turning the tables on her critics nearly two months after her lavish wedding to Travis Kelce.
The 36-year-old superstar reflected on her career during a retrospective interview for The Icon Sessions on Monday, an event presented by the Recording Academy’s Songwriters & Composers Wing.
In the conversation, recorded on August 18, Swift spoke candidly about refusing to let negative public opinion interfere with the way she writes, creates and moves through her career.
“Sometimes it fuels it. Like sometimes when people are mocking me, it’s really fun to mock them back,” said the singer, who appeared in a chic mint dress.
The Grammy winner added with a laugh: “Sometimes I like to just use words that they have to look up in order to talk s**t about.”
Swift explained that, over the years, she has developed different ways of coping with the pressure. One of them, she said, is reminding herself: “You chose this. You chose this every day. You could have opted out of this any day before it got unmanageably big.”
Taylor Swift, 36, discussed how she deals with critics and her “unmanageably big” fame while showing her wedding ring in a new interview
“And I decided not to because I love it that much,” she continued. “And that’s just where it begins and where it ends. And everything that comes with this ultimately is worth it as long as I get to still make music.”
Swift also told Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr the common criticism fans aim at her.
‘It’s like, anything you say, they’re like, “Oh, easy for you to say,”‘ she said in an exaggerated tone.
Elsewhere in the interview she said: ‘I realized that I’m making music because I’m playing for the fans. I’m putting this out for people who care about it and who look to music as a way to cope with their life in the way that I did.’
‘And I think that if you can actually go through all those checkpoints and realize that putting out music you’ve made that you love so much is not the path to universal validation… if you’re still doing it, then you love it for the right reasons. That’s serious.’
Swift also thrilled fans with a surprise mashup performance during the Icon sessions.
She performed her Toy Story 5 hit, I Knew It, I Knew You, as well as August and All Too Well from her albums Folklore and Red.
‘I never turned to music to forget my human experience,’ Swift shared.
The superstar looked back on her career in a retrospective conversation for The Icon Sessions on Monday; Seen performing in 2024
Swift opened up about refusing to let negative public perception stifle her creative process. ‘Sometimes it fuels it. Like sometimes when people are mocking me, it’s really fun to mock them back,’ she said; Pictured in 2024
‘Sometimes I like to just use words that they have to look up in order to talk s**t about,’ the Grammy winner quipped; Seen in 2024
The interview comes nearly two months after her lavish Madison Square Garden wedding to Travis Kelce, 36; The two seen in March
‘I turned to music to remember it. And so in songwriting, I find myself drawn to consequences, stakes, and the passage of time so we can see those decisions through.’
During her interview and performance Swift also flashed her wedding band and her massive engagement ring from Kelce.
Her husband recently opened up about married life about a week after friends of the newlyweds revealed Swift was experiencing ‘bliss’ as Mrs Kelce and ‘waking up together’ in their marital home.
He said their wedding was ‘crazy’ and described their ceremony as the ‘best night of [his] life.’
‘That’s about all I really got from that night,’ he said at Kansas City Chiefs training camp ahead of their first preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.
‘It was a crazy night. It was full of a lot of celebration. But it’s football, baby.’
