So this morning my little sister texted me about being annoyed that Taylor Swift did the whole “and it’s all because of travy” stuff at the end of her Iheartradio speech and tbh I literally cannot relate at all because from a Gaylor or performance art pov in terms of some of the stuff I’ve written about I think it was literally one of her best uses of Travis Kelce to date(!!!)

Travis, as a muse, is such a representation of Taylor Swifts “true self,” and it is such a perfect continuation to how she used Joe Alwyn (and Karlie Kloss) to also represent her true self throughout her work and her story as well. Hear me out…!!!

Taylor Swift manufactured a ton of high profile scandal (John Mayer all the way to Calvin Harris, tom H, etc) and then ultimately used a long-term muse of Joe Alwyn throughout her albums, and he was also a reflection of her true self and where she was. And to the public, that Taylor was extremely private (as was Joe Alwyn, famously). That person is also an amateur (representing Taylor as she was growing and maturing and honing her skills) and most Importantly… an actor. Much like the Taylor Swift that we have known largely, up until this point, is an actor.

Fast forward to the Joe breakup that she heavily publicized at the beginning of the eras tour (starting her showgirl era). What did she do to kick off her Travis era? Manufacture a ton of high profile scandal (while she held her biggest platform literally ever) with Matty Healy. All to ultimately end up with the football star, Travis Kelce, who is anything but private. Taylor has said that there is “no spotlight too large for him.” He is also the product of a lot of training, hard work, and dedication to a craft. He is at the end of his career and unarguably a “great” in his sport, not an amateur like Joe Alwyn was at the beginning of their relationship.

(Towards the beginning of the high profile press devoted to him/their relationship, an article was released titled “How Travis Kelce’s Business Managers Plan to Make Him as Famous as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.” I believe that, in a nutshell, that title essentially describes Taylor Swifts entire career up until this point, in terms of calculation and scheming. Contrast that with a Joe Alwyn interview in Wall Street journal while he was still dating Taylor titled “Joe Alwyn Is Hollywood’s Most Private Leading Man.” This is such an example imo of how Taylor has woven her story into the press that is so genius and is going to be studied for a long time. Such an impressive craft is her ability to use the media to create her lore and then tell those stories In her music. Very Elizabeth Taylor!!! )

Like most of the showgirl era (and her career- for example, the magazine interviews above) she used this speech to draw a metaphor to her career and work, as well. She explained to the fans that she got to hone her craft as a young person - in private, outside of the scrutiny of the public eye - and that the internet will destroy anything you feed to it.

In that speech, in saying that, she explained why she did everything she did (the entire performance art “act” you could say) and then ended it by saying that the reason she is able to feel as happy and free as she does now, is because of Travis. It’s because of the real Taylor, who did the hard work in private, and is soon going to shine out in the spotlight. But required time in private first to develop.

Even more incredible imo that this was the speech where she also thanked fans for their support of the fate of Ophelia. While Travis Kelce acted as the PR narrative muse for this era, she literally starts off the song by saying “I heard you calling on the megaphone,” and displays her “director” self as one calling to her on the megaphone.

And on this exact song she sings “i was alone in my tower, you were just honing your power.” Which is literally what she described in her speech. Just some food for thought that might support the idea that she is telling a very cohesive story that indicates she is ready to “step into the daylight”!!