Larry Koester

Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes at the Arrowhead stadium almost a year ago.

Taylor Swift, as if one doesn’t hear that name enough, is under fire for hugging her friend. That’s right, the exalted American singer-songwriter embraced her year-long friend, Brittany Mahomes, and is now under fire. Swift and Mahomes have been friends for quite some time now, having been the two most prominent Wives and Girlfriends (WAGs) of Chiefs players—but their general admiration plummeted when fans discovered Mahomes’ political ideologies. 

Brittany Mahomes, best known as the wife of Chief’s star Patrick Mahomes, has been one of the internet’s “it girls” for quite some time, as she has been a member of the celebrated NFL WAG club for 12 years. However, that popularity quickly declined when fans noticed she liked a post on The Donald Trump HQ’s Instagram, which outlined The Trump administration’s 2024-2028 plan. Brittany came under a social media firestorm of criticisms and newfound hate, compelling her to quickly unlike the post. 

The following Friday, she condemned the haters via Instagram story by saying, “To be a hater as an adult, you have to have some deep-rooted issues you refuse to heal from childhood. There’s no reason your brain is fully developed and you hate to see others doing well.”

Within the next week, she quickly doubled down on her stance, liking multiple pro-republican comments on her Instagram. One of them said, “Glad to see you aren’t backing down. We are all entitled to our own opinions and shouldn’t be bullied into submission.”

One could argue that her being in the limelight solidifies any social media like, share, comment, or follow as support for a political candidate and, therefore, a message to viewers who they should be voting for. However, aside from these outliers, Mahomes has stayed away from politics. Now that she has been “outed” as a Republican, one can only wonder how she might use her platform for politics in the future.

Again, despite Mahomes’ “support” being all but a couple of social media likes, Donald Trump took it as seriously as her fans, publicly thanking her for the endorsement via a post on Truth Social. This only intensified the surge of furious criticisms she received through social media. Fans were left to wonder not only how Mahomes would manage the crisis but also what Swift’s reaction would be. 

Swift has been persistent in using her immense platform to show exactly who she will be voting for, having supported the Biden Administration in 2020 and now Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy in 2024. She is also a prominent supporter of feminism, an idea that is present in many of her songs, such as “The Man” and “mad woman.” 

Seeing the social scrutiny Mahomes was left under after a few double taps, fans of Swift were left to wonder if she would protect her social standing by distancing herself from her friend. However, despite the recent controversies, Swift was seen embracing her friend at the U.S. Open Tennis men’s finals, shocking many of her fans.

Immediately, many Swift fans criticized her for continuing to be friends with Mahomes, condemning her for her ignorance. To some, it was just as good as publicly endorsing Trump.

This is what’s dangerous about the situation and the controversy surrounding it—Swift committed no crime. These “fans” scorned her for associating herself with a Trump supporter. Never mind that she retains the same political and social ideals that she had before, the same ones she presented to her fans through her music, social media posts, and political endorsements. Her associating herself with someone who has different, non-“politically correct” ideals made her a criminal.

One shouldn’t need the same political, social, or economic ideals as someone else to be their friend, to enjoy their company. In fact, it’s detrimental to one’s political awareness to have meaningful and lengthy conversations with people who have different beliefs. 

As Mahomes posted on August 26th, “Contrary to the tone of the world today … You can disagree with someone, and still love them. You can have differing views, and still be kind.”