Taylor Swift Fans Defend Singer Against Age Controversy: ‘Makes Me So Sad For Her’

Pop star Taylor Swift may be more concerned about her age than she lets on.

Born on December 13 1989, the “Anti-Hero” singer is now 35 years old. Although some artists, like the legendary Dolly Parton, enjoy timeless careers, others notice their star power fading after they reach a certain age.

While Swift has enjoyed a great deal of success from The Eras Tour, it’s possible that she still feels the pressure of her age affecting her career.

In the Travis and Taylor Reddit board, a user shared a 14-second clip of Swift’s interview with Seth Meyers on his talk show. “It’s crazy how young you were,” he says. “Because you’re young now, and that was a long time ago.”

“That’s so… thank you,” Taylor replies.

“I can say it honestly, because I’ve also aged,” Seth quips.

“What a friend,” Taylor adds.

“I think you guys are right about her being conscious of her age. She acted too relieved at him calling her young,” the original poster (OP) wrote in the title, adding, “Being in your thirties isn’t old at all but we know how the world treats pop stars above 30; some get to still have a successful career like Beyoncé but a lot don’t.”

“This makes me so sad for her,” one user wrote before comparing the exchange to one they saw between Dolly Parton and Sabrina Carpenter, who recently worked together on “Please Please Please.” When Dolly told Sabrina she’d be old one day, Sabrina reportedly said something along the lines of, “Yes, I can’t wait. I hope I’ll be as beautiful as you.”

“It doesn't help that people make nasty comments alluding to her being past her prime or that she's ‘bordering middle age’ (at the age of 35!),” another user pointed out. “I like to snark too, but so many people think women are crypt keepers once they hit 30.”

“It's a societal issue, and her potential insecurity about it is something I won't fault or make fun of her for, because there's such pressure placed upon women,” they continued. “For Taylor, it also can't help that her parents put it into her head that her worth was based on her marketability to the masses. I'd have to imagine that would create a warped perception of self-worth to anyone.”

There was a great deal of debate around the phrase “pushing 40,” with one fan asking, “Even if she was pushing 40, why is that a bad thing? She isn’t because she’s just 35, but even if she were, why is it negative?”

“My understanding of this phrase and the way I’ve seen people use it isn’t to insinuate that there’s something wrong with being 40, but that 40 should be old enough to know better than whatever it is they’re criticizing,” another user replied. “Context definitely matters, but it’s not an inherently ageist saying.”

Another fan agreed, writing, “It’s only negative because they’re using it as an insult. The term ‘pushing’ when it comes to describing someone’s age is never really used in a positive way. It does have an insulting and patronizing connotation to it on its own just because of the way the phrase is most commonly used.”

One fan, who was also born in 1989 and is the same age as Taylor, also shared their thoughts on the age debate. “I was born in ‘89 as well as Taylor, and honestly, the comments in here shading her for her age kinda bother me a little bit, I’m not gonna lie,” they shared. “I was one of those girls who really struggled embracing womanhood, turning 30 was hard for me, and it’s because so many people, men and women included, make remarks about women in their 30s, tear us down, and shame us for still feeling young.”

“It’s disheartening to see that women will tear down women over something as simple as aging, which is something we all go through. There are a lot of things to snark on, but her age shouldn’t be one of them. I can relate to her feeling insecure about it just because of how people look down on women for aging, but when a man ages, it’s celebrated,” they continued, wrapping up their thoughts with, “Ugh.”

There has been a lot of debate about whether or not Taylor Swift has been using plastic surgery in order to maintain her youthful appearance, but it seems pretty clear that she, like everyone else in Hollywood, is worried about aging out of the industry and fading from the public eye.

Fortunately for her fans, this will not happen to her. Even if she decides to stop making music, her career will continue to flow into new creative avenues. In December 2022, Variety reported that she would be making her feature film directing debut for Searchlight Pictures based on an original script.

Although there has been little movement on the project while she focused on The Eras Tour, she became the only solo artist ever to be honored with two best direction awards at the MTV VMAs for her work on “The Man” and “All Too Well: The Short Film” that same year.

So while Taylor might become more hesitant to step in front of the camera as she ages (aren’t we all?), her career isn’t going anywhere.