July 30, 2020

Taylor Swift Remains Silent as Fans Doxx and Harass Music Critic Over ‘Folkore’ Review
The calls started around 2 in the morning—an hour after Pitchfork senior editor Jillian Mapes’ review of Taylor Swift’s eighth album, Folklore, posted on the site. It was a largely positive review. But it was not positive enough for a certain subset of fans, who began to use some of the internet’s dirtiest and most dangerous tactics to harass the writer who’d dared to scorn their Queen with insufficient praise.Mapes’ even-handed review deftly and artfully expressed Folklore’s strengths and weaknesses—and given Pitchfork’s historical skepticism toward popular artists, the piece might as well have been a rave. But certain lines didn’t sit well with Swift’s most rabid fans. And perhaps more importantly, the 8.0 numerical score that accompanied Mapes’ review—a metric determined not by the reviewer, but from multiple staffers’ ratings—threatened to drag down the album’s aggregated Metacritic score. That, apparently, was an intolerable insult.Various tweets, some of which have now been deleted or removed and some of which still remain, included Mapes’ address and phone numbers old and current. Some have included photos of Mapes and even her home. Users have “joked” about burning her house. Others have posted screenshots of a Halsey tweet responding to a bad review earlier this year—in which the Singer wrote, “can the basement that they run p*tchfork out of just collapse already.” Halsey deleted the tweet at the time after realizing that Pitchfork is, in fact, run out of One World Trade Center.Swift’s representative did not respond to multiple requests for comment.No, Tom Hanks Did Not Flee to Greece to Avoid Pedophilia Charges, You SickosTaylor Swift, The Chicks, and Music’s Fierce Women Deliver the Soundtrack to Our Lockdown-Era MadnessDespite these fans’ insistence that their concern is the fairness and quality of the reviews Folklore receives, they really appear fixated on the album’s Metacritic score. Specifically, many lamented the possibility that Folklore could drop below a 90. At the time of writing, the album’s Metascore is an 89.Music stans have begun using elaborate methods to boost new releases from their favorite artists in recent years. They coordinate streaming parties and create hours-long playlists and pool money to buy as many fans digital copies of new releases as possible. All of this aims to boost albums’ and songs’ chart positions by getting as many people listening for as many hours as possible, on as many platforms as possible.But in targeting a journalist like this, some fans have taken things to a dangerous extreme. And perhaps more importantly, this is not the first time that Swift’s most zealous fans have used doxxing and death threats to punish people they feel have wronged her.Last fall, after Swift urged her followers to “let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel” about their efforts to keep her from using and performing old hits, her fans doxxed both men.Swift’s request might have seemed reasonable to some at the time, given the rights issues at hand. But doxxing is more than an innocent prank, and both Instagram and Twitter have policies prohibiting the practice. Once a person’s private information has been distributed, it’s impossible to make it private again—and given the potentially lethal ways it can be used, that’s a harrowing prospect.On another occasion last summer, furious Swifties also sent death threats and racial slurs to comedians Desus and Mero for “body-shaming” Swift with a joke about the singer having a “very long back.”As Mero told The Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein, “The FBI called my house. Well actually, they called my local precinct... Somebody had sent me a message saying, ‘I know you have four kids and I know where they go to school.’ And I screen-grabbed it and I was like, ‘I wish you would, motherfucker! Come to my house, I got a rusty machete waiting for you.’”Swift does not appear to have commented on these incidents, either.Musicians have faced backlash in recent years for attacking critics they felt had done them wrong. Last year, Lana Del Rey and Lizzo both drew ire when they attacked critics over reviews they didn’t like. But this case stands out both because the fans themselves are behind the attacks and, most confusingly, did so over a largely positive review.Despite the real and genuinely frightening harassment Mapes has received—including, as she noted in a series of tweets posted Tuesday, repeated phone calls and physical threats—these fans have largely laughed at articles and Social Media users calling them out for their behavior. As one fan put it, “our impact is unmeasurable it’s so funny pls.”“tell me people don’t actually take ‘threats’ from swifties seriously- half of us are depressed and the other half are dumb do y’all really think we’re gonna hurt you in any way,” another account wrote.But when threats come from faceless Twitter accounts, and are accompanied by real harassment, it’s hard to know how any writer is supposed to determine what is and is not a legitimate threat. Especially as newsroom shootings and threats of violence against journalists become the norm, making light of threatening to burn down a writer’s home is a callous, juvenile “joke” at best.In this context, Swift’s continued silence essentially becomes tacit permission for her fans to continue harassing anyone they please. It’s perhaps not the best look for a pop star who once had a hit all about overcoming bullying—and who last year wrote about fearing for her safety after her personal information was repeatedly shared online.In a tweet posted Tuesday, Mapes wrote that she’s received “more Twitter threats to roll up and harm me than I could stomach to go through.”“I’ve gotten too many emails saying some version of, ‘you are an ugly fat bitch who is clearly jealous of Taylor, plz die,’” Mapes wrote in a thread, “which is not the first time I’ve heard that from pop stans...It sucks to be scared of every person milling about outside or feel like you can’t answer the phone. That said, I am safe and doing fine.”Mapes wrote that her posts were not meant to deride “the Swiftie hive,” but to clarify what had actually happened to prevent misinformation from spreading. (Mapes declined to comment for this story, but provided The Daily Beast permission to quote her tweets as her account remains private.) And indeed, it’s worth noting that Swift fans themselves have, in many cases, joined in urging their fellow fans against spreading misinformation and apologized on behalf of the broader fandom.It’s understandable that longtime Swift fans might be a little sensitive about how their favorite artist is perceived and ranked compared to other artists. For a long time, she and her music could often be dismissed as teenage fluff for screaming tweens. In some arenas, that stereotype prevails.But pop has since risen to astronomical influence since Swift’s earlier years, and garnered more serious consideration than in years past. And especially since 1989, netting her a second Album of the Year Grammy, critics have taken Swift seriously as an artist and lyricist. The fact that Pitchfork, which once made a habit of ignoring pop artists altogether, even bothered to review Folklore—and then gave the album a solid 8.0—expresses that fact better than perhaps anything. So in the words of Swift herself: Anyone throwing temper tantrums on her behalf needs to calm down.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Millie Bobby Brown & Jake Bongiovi Celebrate “Three Years of Bliss” Ahead of Wedding
March 24, 2024
C4Ehegcq1-A
Kate Middleton & Prince William "Enormously Touched" by Public Support
March 24, 2024
s8fig-RCjFc
Gisele Bündchen Denies Cheating on Ex-Husband Tom Brady
March 23, 2024
_SpRMagA8BM
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
'Everybody Was S----ing Their Pants': Nick Thune Jokes About Being Born in the '70s and Fatherhood
March 16, 2024
mm7Baf6o2d8
Gunna Says Tour Will Up Creativity in Rap, Endorses Flo Milli | TMZ
March 22, 2024
QfMU24fw-Qo
Reporter Taylor Lorenz Says Palace Botched Kate Cancer News Rollout | TMZ Live
March 22, 2024
o43ZucdiyEo
Riley Strain's Body Found After Going Missing in Nashville 2 Weeks Ago | TMZ NOW
March 22, 2024
1m1zM-4_Cs8
Kyle Richards hasn’t spoken to co-star Dorit Kemsley, denies sending her a ‘manipulative’ text
March 24, 2024
LqLZzDP1hm4
Jordan Emanuel on her connection to 'RHOSLC' star Meredith Marks, advice from Amanda Batula
March 24, 2024
5NPAwlOov1Y
Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary apologizes after slamming ‘fickle’ Meghan Markle in scathing interview
March 24, 2024
JWG9kitALZk
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SK Brann W - Barcelona W
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Hacken W - PSG W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SL Benfica W - Lyon W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Ajax W - Chelsea W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Brighton - Manchester City
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.