Taylor Swift wishes the gays a ‘Happy Pride Month’ at The Eras Tour
Taylor Swift commemorated Pride at her Eras Tour show, Lyon. (Getty)
Pride Month is here, people! And Taylor Swift made sure to wish the queer community a “Happy Pride Month” at her Eras Tour show in Lyon, France.
The “Fortnight” singer has kicked off the European leg of her record-breaking show, The Eras Tour. The star may have added seven new songs to her shows in light of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, but also made sure to mark the commemorative month for the LGBTQ+ community.
Swift delivered the Pride shout-out on 2 June near the start of her three-hour-plus Eras Tour set during her Lover era. “Happy Pride Month, Lyon,” the singer shouted whilst performing her 2019 tribute to the LGBTQ+ community, “You Need to Calm Down”.
The audience erupted in applause at the Groupama Stadium, marking Swift’s first performance during Pride Month 2024, as well as the first performance out of two in the city.
The singer has long been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, Swift pledged to “always” advocate for the community after being honoured at the Attitude Awards for her role in driving up voter registration among youth in the US, particularly for speaking out against Donald Trump and anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans.
Many of her music videos have credited the LGBTQ+ community, including her Brendon Urie collaboration, “ME!“ The Lover track was quickly declared a gay anthem, thanks to the prominence of rainbows and gender-subverting themes in the video.
Swift was also praised for featuring transgender model Laith Ashley in her music video for the Midnights song “Lavender Haze”. Meanwhile, “Gaylor” fans (a long-running theory that Swift is queer, and is hinting at her sexuality in her music) were thrilled when she announced the track title for the song, as the colour is of historical significance for the queer community.
However, this was quickly shot down by the singer who said the song was inspired by “a common phrase in the 50s” for “being in love”. Some fans did accused her lyricism of queerbating at the time, though it’s important to remember that if someone is LGBTQ+, they should be afforded the right to come out when they feel is right.
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