Look what you made them do
Taylor Swift knows how to make an entrance. The singer has been completely off the grid for almost a year but has managed to dominate headlines over the past week, bursting back into our lives with the undeniably catchy Look What You Made Me Do from her upcoming album, Reputation. On top of that, she's used her comeback to throw shade at arch nemesis Katy Perry, ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris and power couple Kanye West and Kim Kardashian without even saying a word.
Taylor's shady behaviour hasn't exactly gone unnoticed. She decided to hand over her music to Spotify on the day that Katy Perry released her new album, and she deemed the VMAs - which Katy was hosting - the perfect time to debut her new music video. Taylor was also slammed for allegedly referencing Kim Kardashian's robbery in Paris in her music video, where she is lying in a bath of diamonds and making gun signals with her hands.
However, her new bad girl, snake-embracing image has received mixed reviews. While her latest music video is full of sneaky references and, admittedly, a feast for the eyes, her life-long fans - also known as Swifties - have slated her new music. Many are confused as to why she has ditched the feel-good pop sounds of Red and 1989 for clapback tracks, and they aren't totally on board with her attempts to rap (ahem, have you heard Are You Ready?).
But worse than that, Taylor has landed herself in hot water for supposedly aiming her IDGAF attitude directly at her fans. Over the weekend, Taylor was a bridesmaid for her best friend, Abigail Anderson. Her biggest fans had turned up to see the star leave the event in the hope that she might take a selfie or sign an autograph, and considering that Taylor used to be so big on the whole fan-artist relationship, it's not unusual for her biggest supporters to show up to see her. However, Taylor was ushered out of the event hidden behind a black sheet and was whisked off in a car without even so much as a glance to her waiting fans.
In a video obtained by TMZ, one fan is heard saying: 'We thought you loved your fans. Very disappointing. Not cool,' with others shouting: 'Noooo!' upon realising she was leaving without saying hello.
The whole situation left her dedicated fans booing their idol.
It comes straight after news that Taylor was developing a 'reward programme' in order to sell her tour tickets. The 'Taylor Swift Tix' promotion run by Ticketmaster means that fans must buy merchandise, copies of her album, watch her music videos and engage with her on social media to earn points, and the more points an individual racks up the more likely they are to get hold of tickets to one of her shows.
Taylor's rep told Fox News that the system was in place to ensure that tickets weren't snapped up by touts, saying: 'If these same tickets were offered on the open market, scalpers would snatch them up and fans would be paying thousands of dollars for them.
'Scalpers and bots will not take the time to engage in legitimate fan activity. Taylor rewarding her fans for posting selfies, watching Youtube videos and downloading her albums, things her fans are already doing, is a great thing. This is a program that rewards fans for being fans and makes sure they get great tickets at face value.'
Some fans agree at the system is positive for those who want to get hold of tickets to see their idol, because essentially they will be doing those things regardless.
However, many have accused Taylor of being 'greedy' and devising a system that ensures she rakes in even more cash from her adoring fans.
Is this controversy a sign of things to come for Taylor Swift? Either way, she knows how to keep people talking about her, and whether you're a Swifty or hater - we're all watching to see what happens next.
