Taylor Swift Donates More Than $100K to LGBTQ Advocacy Group
Taylor Swift has been making forays into political expression as of late, and her latest move involves a generous charitable gift to an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.
On Monday (Apr. 8) Swift donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project, which states it is working on "advancing the Rights of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community in Tennessee" and is at the moment is fighting a series of state bills that discriminate against the LGBTQ community, including measures targeting same-sex couple adoption.
Swift penned a message to the organization's executive director, Chris Sanders, which read, "I'm so inspired by the work you do, specifically in organizing the recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders against the 'slate of hate' in our state legislature."
Sanders responded on Facebook with a heartfelt post, saying, "Taylor Swift has been a long-time ally to the LGBTQ community. She sees our struggle in Tennessee and continues to add her voice with so many good people, including religious leaders, who are speaking out for love in the face of fear." He also posted her full note.
Swift has long been silent on the political front, but broke that practice in October of 2018 when she endorsed Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives for her home state of Tennessee in the midterm elections. (She also posted an explanation to her fans regarding the benefits of early voting).
Unsurprisingly, given her massive reach, her endorsements drew mixed responses—with even President Donald Trump weighing in. ("Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now," he noted.)
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