Taylor Swift has been in the news quite a lot in the past week.
That’s usually the case when she releases a new album, but this time, there’s a twist:
Sales of The Life of a Showgirl have been spectacular — record-breaking, in fact — but the response to the album has been … well, mixed would be the polite way to put it.
It’s not just that Taylor is dealing with some of the first one-star reviews of her career.
It’s also the fact that even longtime fans are calling out some of the album’s lyrics as being more than a little problematic.
Taylor has been accused of bullying Charli XCX with “Actually Romantic,” in which she allegedly lashes out at her fellow pop star in brutal fashion.
Worse, Swift is accused of using racially insensitive imagery in songs like “Opalite” and “Wish List.”
Needless to say, this is not the sort of week Taylor had in mind when she announced the release of her new album.
And while she’ll certainly remain the most succesful musical artist on the planet (by most metrics, no one else even comes close), Taylor’s popularity might have judst endured a slight but noticeable dip.
Instagram users notice decline in Taylor’s following
Across the social media landscape, Taylor’s critics have been reveling in the fact that her Instagram following has gone from 282 million to 281 million in the days since TLOAS hit stores.
That still makes her the 14th most popular account, just below Kendall Jenner and just above National Geographic (Instagram is a weird place), so it’s probably not a cause of concern for Taylor.
But it is the sort of situation that her social media team might be watching closely.
Of course, as many have pointed out, with such massive followings, Instagram rounds to the nearest whole number, so Taylor probably didn’t lose a full million.
Newsweek estimates that her following declined by about 200,00 — chump change when you’re talking about a nine-figure following … but still a whole lot of people.
More scandals ahead for Taylor?
All of these storms can be weathered, of course — but Tay might be in trouble if there are more scandals on the horizon. And that might turn out to be the case.
The latest criticism of the pop icon has to do with her use of AI in her album’s promotional materials:
“Taylor has literally used AI in EVERY of these TLOAS little visuals,” one X user wrote this week.
“This is literally so bad considering she’s the biggest artist out there right now. Why a billionaire spending YEARS defending their art would need this? Terribly disappointing.”
Perhaps nothing will come of this latest controversy — or perhaps Taylor will be forced to deal with yet another round of backlash.
Whatever the case, the life of a showgirl isn’t looking terribly glamorous at the moment.