Weeks ago, college students stormed campus courtyards to protest Israel through half-hearted hunger strikes. School is out for the summer — which means activists need new stomping grounds. What better place than the front row of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour?
Swift has been quiet on the war in the Middle East, which has proven to be a relatively good media strategy, so far. But anti-Israel activists are demanding more of Swift, who “Swifties for Palestine” say could shore up millions of dollars in donations to Gaza.
“People who are front row at the eras tour are the ones who could actually make a difference [because] taylor IS going to see them especially during the set of red, 1989 and fearless she’s actually looking at people yall need to make these kind of cardboards #SwiftiesForPalestine,” one X user posted, alongside a photo of a bedazzled poster of Gaza flags that read, “We demand Swift action!”
The singer is immune to cancellation attempts at this point. And if she weren’t so popular and beloved, anti-Israel activists would treat her indifference with much more scorn and protest. But no encampments have sprung up outside of her Eras tour, and no Swifties have called for concert boycotts. Fans are simply gunning for the front lines, arming themselves with “speak now for Palestine” friendship bracelets. Dressed in sequins, holding kitschy, bejeweled Gaza flags, at a concert that costs upward of $1,500 per ticket, is probably not the best way to advocate for starving children in the Middle East, if that is indeed the object of fans’ advocacy. Concert-goers are upset, granted . . . just not enraged enough to do more than hold a sign in $9,000 front-row seats. Take that, Israel.