Taylor Swift, an increasingly vocal pop star and supporter of the LGBTQ community, appeared during the Friday (June 26) Stonewall Day livestream to commemorate the day and speak out against trans erasure.
“The Stonewall Inn has been such a symbol in the face of rebellion,” Swift said in her message. “I was lucky enough to get to perform at the Stonewall Inn last summer when my friend Jesse Tyler Ferguson invited me to crash his set,” she continued, calling back to her surprise intimate set on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
But the thrust of Swift’s speech wasn’t nostalgic, but rather forward looking. “[It was] a really good step forward with the Supreme Court ruling… but we still have so far to go with the LGBTQ community,” she said, referring to the recent ruling that prevents employers from discriminating against LGBTQ employees. “I got my census the other day and there were two choices: male and female. And that erasure was so upsetting to me.”
Swift called out the absence of census options for trans and nonbinary citizens “a really brutal way of dismissing them” and wrapped up by saying this November, “We need to make sure we elect people who care about all communities.”
Pride Live’s Stonewall Day is raising funds for LGBTQ organizations impacted by COVID-19 that serve trans and LGBTQ people of color including Trans LifeLine, Brave Space Alliance, TransLatin@ Coalition and The Ally Coalition. Text REBEL to 243725 or visit http://give.onecause.com/rebel to donate.
