Batwoman actor Ruby Rose took to social media to shut down allegations that her longtime friend, pop star Taylor Swift, is pushing a conservative narrative on fans with her new album The Life of a Showgirl.
Last week, Jezebel essayist Lauren Tousignant was one of many critics disappointed with the album.
Swift, who recently got engaged to football player Travis Kelce, sings a lot about marriage and settling down, themes that sting considering "the far-right Christian conservatism creeping across the U.S. that’s trying to convince women that their only purpose in life is to get married and have babies."
Indeed, on Showgirl, Swift occasionally dreams out loud about domestic life. In “Eldest Daughter,” she admits, “When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie,” while on “Wi$h Li$t,” she says she wants to “have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you … got me dreaming ’bout a driveway with a basketball hoop.”
Tousignant's piece, titled, "The Life of a Tradwife," said Swift has now released songs with "tradwife lyrics," comparing them to some of the lyrics of Swift's previous songs on albums like Lover and Midnights. She said the "sophistication" in the lyrics of some of Swift's older output "lies in the vulnerability of finding 'the one' without throwing her previous self under the bus."
A "tradwife"—short for “traditional wife” or “traditional housewife”—is a woman who embraces conventional gender roles within marriage, often prioritizing homemaking, child-rearing, and domestic duties over a professional career.
While many self-described tradwives avoid explicit political commentary, their content has been linked to broader alt-right and far-right movements. Black feminist scholars in particular have observed that by presenting traditionalism as an “apolitical” lifestyle choice, some influencers help normalize ideologies rooted in patriarchy, white supremacy, and rigid gender hierarchies.
But Rose was not happy about these accusations and took to Threads to shut them down, writing:
“As someone who has spent many nights discussing the world, social injustice and life, with The Show Girl herself. I refuse to say her name in the same sentence as the hate group, Wackadoodles, are conspiring to attach her to. But what I will say is this -"
"Given her public position against Trump, and his against her. If you are falling for the propaganda “Trad wife” “X,y,z” claims, you are most definitely walking into the biggest man made, rage bait, black hole."
"Stop it. It’s not true, and it’s incredibly stupid. It’s also embarrassing and hurtful to see energy put into this. Keep that energy and let’s take it where it’s necessary and needed."
You can see her posts below.
@rubyrose/Threads
Rose said Swift "used to scroll go fund me like a social media app. Clicking ‘reach their donation’ like the ‘like’ button" in response to a social media user who said they disagreed with a friend who said Swift's billionaire status outweighs her generosity.
You can see her post below.
@miss_gem_k_sands/Threads and @rubyrose/Threads
Notably, Swift previously endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris during last year's election, and political scientists have previously observed the sway her endorsements have had on prior election cycles.
She has also been targeted by President Donald Trump on more than one occasion for this reason and Trump earlier this year made headlines after declaring he alone is responsible for why she is no longer, by his estimation, "hot." And just prior to that, he made a petty dig at Swift during his speech for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles' visit to the White House.
However, Rose's posts received a mixed response—clearly people are split down the middle about Swift and an album they don't feel stands up against her previous work.
Swift has not commented on Rose's posts.
