Journalist reacts to Taylor Swift's TIME Person of the Year Interview 👀 

benjamin buttom being on time’s person of the year cover was not in my 2023 bingo card but i appreciate it

the way you film a video every time she does something and they're all so well worded and thought out amazes me. you're my hero

I think you make an interesting point about how Taylor's family remains close while being involved with her brand, and how it doesn't happen that way often in the world of child stardom. Britney Spears and Jennette McCurdy recently published memoirs detailing the opposite of this family dynamic. It seems notable to me that Taylor's family was relatively well off financially prior to her rise to fame, unlike Britney and Jennette. Though I'm sure the Swifts never imagined Taylor's fame would be THIS lucrative, I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, they weren't depending on Taylor to support them financially.

Nodaysoffologist fr. With the way you keep delivering such insightful and well researched videos literally every other day you should be a contender for person of the year yourself

This and the billionaire video are some of your best work. I love that you don't unconditionally gush over Taylor- you give thought and consideration to all your opinions and so thoroughly explain your reasoning. I don't care if there's an official Taylor Swift reporter out there- you're the Taylor Swift reporter we want and need.

When she said " we would never be so psychotic..." 😂 i was like "omg... she's listening to the Swiftologist!!!! 😂❤

Her and her marketing team need to teach some kind of master class and win some awards. Because to take a pretty, tall, thin, blonde, wealthy and famous woman from a well-off upbringing and successfully market her as the relatable, scrappy underdog is marketing genius. Her storytelling and her team’s branding deserve their own graduate courses.

I read/hear criticism of how Taylor is over-reacting to what happened with Kanye West. But to me, I see it as a perspective of her age at the time and how memory works. She was around 24-25 when they shared the edited phone call, I think. At a younger age, things that you don't expect will be monumental to you, at that time and as time goes on. I had breast cancer for the first time at 23 - I still cry when I even think about it. It literally obliterated the life I had built up to then. Then I had breast cancer at 41 - and it again obliterated my life. But when I think of having breast cancer at 41, I don't cry about it (I'm 50 now). I see it in a different light - and the memory of it while it's more recent is actually not at "big" to me as the memory of having cancer at 23. It's easy to criticize and dive into every little detail, but she's a human being with flaws and she's incredibly strong to withstand the hour by hour pressure of it all.

You have been DELIVERING this month, quality and quantity. I've been listening Evolution of a Snake everyday for about a week and you and Madelaine are some of the funniest and most insightful content creators out there and I love listening to that side of you after watching this channel only for so long. ❤

sam lansky doing this profile was literally everything i could have asked for, his book broken people and also britney's memoir were arguably one of my best reads of this year, and i totally agree he could have pushed further at times but I'd say I'm definitely not disapointed, also 2 videos in a row? no-days-offologist for the win!!! ✨

I wish we as a fandom were clear about the folklore factoring hugely to getting her where she's at now. Yes, the two events that she brought up are key. I just feel like she neglects this third key event, and I've seen a lot of other nerd Swifties that have been keeping up slowly wake up to this fact.

"Feminine ideas becoming lucrative means more female art will get made." When Zach said this is her justification for her own billionairism, it makes TOTAL sense. Due to the way she's been treated, Taylor has resisted the patriarchy ever since Lena Dunham taught her about feminism. I thought it was random how Gerwig is quoted in this piece, but I'm sure it's because they have a project cooking. I believe she has plans to use her money to fund female-driven cinema. It tracks with the "heroes journey" narrative and her pledge to keep making stuff. So even though being a billionaire is deleterious on so many levels, it couldn't be more classic Taylor than to be coming from this morally righteous "heroic" place that can be seen as admirable albeit a little pollyanna.

“Keep making art” brings me back to her speech at the billboards for woman of the decade when she praises Lana for not giving up when everyone was bullying her. She literally says “she just kept. Making. Art.” And it makes me smile. 💕

A month or so ago I looked into the Kanye Kim Taylor thing. I vaguely remember when it happened but after seeing the tape of Kim laughing while taking pictures of the fake nude body of Taylor - WELL THAT IS DISGUSTING 🤢 And Kim followed that up with helping Kanye twist the whole phone call to make Taylor seem the liar - what kind of woman does that? A nasty woman, that’s who.

I think by “frat guy” she wasn’t necessarily implying being unprepared as far as practicing. I think she meant going out, eating what’s convenient and not focusing on nutrition as fuel, drinking, not getting proper sleep or enough hydration - just getting back out there and doing it again the next night - these are all frat guy behaviors.

As someone also born in 1989, “millennial behavior” had me cackling. It’s real and I live it every day.

No matter how many times you get cancelled you'll always be my favorite swiftie because you know when to criticize Taylor and also when to give her the credit she deserves. I also love your brutal honesty. More people need to be like that

One day when we’re old and grey and she is ready for a (guarded) tell all, I hope it’s YOU, Z. This was sooo thoughtful and well spoken as always. 💞

I think one of Taylor infinity stones is also stroytelling; telling her own story, telling others stories, her songwriting and how much it tells a story of her growth

There are so many part of Taylor swift 1. Her life 2. Her love life 3. Her childhood 4. Her songs 5. The lore 6. And more Theres so much lore to Taylor and you can hear this in her songs

I'm so comforted and glad she mentioned Ana in the interview -- and the article went out with her full name. It's subtle, but if you think about it, her name and memory is gonna be forever printed in none less than effing Time effing magazine. She definitely mentions or doesn't mention things on purpose, and this was better than anything she could have said that day. Long live, Ana!

I think it’s worth noting that Taylor has mentioned watching The Last Dance (the Michael Jordan docuseries) and it impacting her. I have always thought of her and how her mind works very similar to a premier/ all-time athlete. Kobe even admired and respected her. Her focus (maybe even obsession), even on the KK/SB/BM is a very similar trait to many top athletes that either fabricate or mentally intensify feuds or slights to fuel them. I respect her experience and its clear traumatic impact on her, but she has definitely kept the emotional intensity high on this to carry her through this mission. It’s competitive, it’s vindictive, it’s calculated. I say this all as a cheerleader. I just think when people want to compare her to ones before her it makes more sense to compare her to Kobe Bryant than it does to Beyoncé. IMHO.

Ok, this disclaimer is necessary: I struggle with public persona of Taylor Swift and it causes strong negative feelings towards her . On one hand I have mad respect for her artistic process, business talent, agency over her career, working hard to get better. On the other: she looses me whenever she stops talking strictly work, when she still presents things as world is being agains her despite being on top of it. Now, I loved your complex and balanced take on things! I will stay here for longer because it is great to, for once, listen to somebody who is a fan, but not uncritical and blind to some more questionable aspects of her career. I appreciate pushback on ‘career being taken away from her’ - was her contract ended? Was she unable to record next album? Was she rejected by media? No, she wasn’t. She was able to come back with new album, and very first music video was something EVERYBODY talked about as huge success and ultimate come back. I may not be her fan, but I will definately be yours. It was a pleasure to listen to your analysis!

were yall not there when she got cancelled? like everyone hated her...i remember random people who are far removed from the drama in middle school shitting on her bc of this, her friends turned against her, people internationally were sending her death threats and burning her cds and merch. i wouldn't say she was being overdramatic in her feelings, even if she were wrong at the end of the day.

i’ve been checking your channel for the past day waiting for this video! you have such brilliant, important commentary. this is the best channel i’ve found this year!

I think Taylor has learned to become comfortable “looking better in the rear view” - I don’t think Taylor is perfect, but I also think it’s plausible that she keeps things close to the vest when a situation is still actively playing out (i.e. labels making it more difficult for artists to re-record) and that situation requires strategy. Not allowing the industry to anticipate her next move is a proven strategy for her and could still define, to some degree, her approach to business to this day. …or maybe she will never do or say anything about it- we might find out some day! 😅

I’ve just recently (in the last year) started to fall for Taylor. I admire her so much and find her more relatable now. I just turned 50 and I didn’t give her the attention she most likely deserved in her early-mid career. I did know her popular songs and found them catchy, but I wasn’t going outta my way to make it personal, if ya know what I mean. Fast forward to now and I can’t get enough….I’m enjoying her albums, watching her performances and this whole new relationship she’s in. I’m still getting caught up on a lot and your channel definitely helps and is so contagious in the love for Taylor. Your take on Taylor, all the different facets, is really helping me grow as a new fan. Another amazing thing that I’ve found about SWIFTIES is how welcoming they seem to be. They want to share their love for her and all the reasons she’s amazing. I appreciate that, as someone still hanging out in the shallow end. Really enjoying your channel and wanted to say THANK YOU 😊 as well!!

i'm constantly impressed by how eloquent and logical these videos are. nobullshitologist fr

The deal with the Masters was based on ego and money. Her label had a bruised ego because she and her family's initial investment made that company from the ground up. And Scooter just wanted money. Unless we're missing some HUGE piece of information regarding her ex label, there's nothing else I can think of other than Scott wanted to one-up her after she likely let him know she was leaving.

I’ve been waaaaiting for that one!!!! Jumped on that notification so quickly!

I hope she pulls an Evelyn Hugo and someday when she’s old and retiring she releases a book full of her secrets, relationships both romantic and friendships, and other just random facts people always wanted to know.

i think horcruxes and infinity stones as examples is soooo interesting actually because like. divided parts of a soul that exist in the narrative to be destroyed in order to defeat the villain and objects of immense power read to me as a view of the original recordings vs the taylor’s versions

Preface: I think your content is EXCELLENT. I love that your baseline is critical thinking. It’s clear that not blindly loving every move she makes is actually a gesture of respect from you as a fan. That said, there were moments in this video where I was surprised to have the thought that maybe you were coming up against the bounds of what you can understand about her experience not being a woman yourself. The other week, my boyfriend asked me to look up a certain sweater on my phone and was like ‘Wow, I’m really struck by the fact that your algorithm shows you both male and female models when you search bc I only get fed male.’

I have to disagree a little bit here ....at least from my perspective during her reputation era, it really did feel like her career was dead. She was made out to be the liar and the mass cancellation of her is almost the opposite pendulum swing to what we are seeing today of her mass stardom. If you think of the cancelling of her being THAT huge, it does actually seem like a career death. I dont doubt at all that she experienced this as the end of her career. And reputation was only born out of total annihilation and the energy of throwing up your hands and basically going crazy with some female rage. Unleashing the beast despite the consequences. For someone as calculated and modest in her music as swift is, reputation is an album that kinda throws the bomb behind her, blows up what she already thought was dead, and walks away. And in that death is her rebirth.

Taylor chose to be in a relationship with a reserved person. She made a choice. He seems perfectly content to interact with fans in small doses. The zoo-madhouse that is the Swifty fandom (intruding on Jack Antonoff’s wedding, e.g.) doesn’t /have/ to be suffered by a partner. And if that level of attention is where Taylor wants to spend her life, she is free to do that. I feel disappointed that she seems to blame him for her own choices. She has sufficient wealth, resources, agency, transportation, and homes to move around when she wants to. Joe has not uttered a word about what it’s like to be in a relationship with TS. I hope that book will come. I’m delighted for Taylor’s success in general and to see her receive this distinction. I’m curious to see what her next chapter will bring in the areas of philanthropy, sustainability, and use of her platform.. Thank you for your high quality content, Zach. Another great commentary.

what did i do right in this life to deserve these back to back videos 😭

Off topic but this shade of green is TOTALLY your color! It suits you so well

To your point, mariah carey was and is very referential to her old eras and albums. When you write and produce your albums there’s a sense of ownership and connection that is created; that’s why taylor and mariah are my favorite artists.

One thing about Taylor’s posts engagement on her instagram: she doesn’t and she never will let the comments define her post’s reach. She deactivated the comments when she came back with the snake posts, and this was one of the smartest things she ever did a few years ago, without even knowing that instagram’s comments would eventually define people’s engagement. If she ever activates her comments again, she will be opening this door that can never be closed, once her visibility will be affected. Right now, everything is organic and her reach is ENORMOUS. I hope she knows this better than me and keeps it that way.

I was also thinking how Travis recently said that “if she is putting up with all of this attention and criticism, I have no right to act weird” and I think this really is the opposite of the Joe situation we had 42:50

Zach, I loved this thorough analysis. One part that stood out to me was how you talked about what questions were left on and left off of the interview and the surface-level depth to which these topics were probed. I'm no journalist, but I'm speculating this is a good, long-term strategy. What you sacrifice in depth today, you gain in trust tomorrow. Therapeutic relationships must be earned. These relationships seem as important to journalistic endeavors of this caliber as they are between a doctor and a patient. I wonder if this article will open a door for future interviews because some trust was earned in this piece. Fabulous job on this video!

Oh, I totally psychoanalzed her reference to the movie "Gladiator" when she said, "Are you not entertained?" I think she said that for a reason, and it was more than a Milennial answer.

Every single video of yours - in this day and age with dangerously short attention spans - has blown me away with how much I go without a break. Zack, you've probably heard this a million times, but you truly have a gift for words. You really know how to construct an interesting analysis that keeps me listening for looooong periods of time, so much so that I'm actually a little sad when I reach the end of a video. You mix insightful conversation with a sense of humour very nicely and that makes for such entertaining content. Can't wait for the Snammy's in a few hours!!

As someone who went through a similar reputation death that same era, i empathize with her feeling her career was over. If you arent psychologically well, you cant work. Something like that can fuck u up mentally really bad where its just not fun anymore and you HAVE to hide away. I didnt want to hide either. I truly think she bounced back because of the inner circle emotional support with her family she had with all the accusations and scrutiny. I unfortunately, was not so lucky, so i developed an illness. Ppl really underestimate the dangers of the psychological edge. But i guess my luck is turning cause im a swiftie and gaining strength through this story. So thanks taylor for making art when i could not for myself.

I have experience with the time magazine process and I can assure the interviews absolutely happened well before November, therefore before Brazil.

EXCELLENT Video Zach! I always enjoy hearing u speak bc I ADORE intellectual people! I always learn a new word, a new perspective from you. I didn’t realize this was basically your full time job; that makes me so happy!

This is the video I’ve been waiting for since the article came out!!! Thank you!!

Not only am I well fed by Taylor but I’m also well fed by you! Thanks for the constant videos and podcast episodes!

Taylor really captured my heart,this year.She's thoughtful,generous,funny,captivating,and down-to-earth,at the same time.💛🧡💜 Congratulations,Taylor.💙💛💙

I love your points. I love how you use your critical thinking. Things that should have been dug into. The businesswoman, playing the game, and being the underdog are things that are hard to reconcile with the singer-songwriter/ entertainer parts of her.

"I didn't leave a rental house for a year" then you say thats not true - uh.. did you think about how she most likely was just 'summarizing' or saying it in that way because the times she didn't leave probably feel a lot longer to her than they might've been/probably were? I understand what you're saying but I wouldn't say that her saying that is a (intentional) lie or 'fake drama'....

I've never seen your videos but wow, you are so well spoken. Really enjoyed this - thank you!

I really enjoy your videos and podcast. Well-spoken, knowledgeable, pleasure to watch/listen.

I literally read the article and was waiting to hear what you thought! Always so fun to hear your opinion!

I still can't believe how your analyses surrounding Taylor Swift in general are so entertaining. For example I would not have the time or, being more honest, the patience to read this whole thing but I caught myself watching an almost 1 hour video of you eloquently dissecting it. Great job! that's why your work's so good to watch.

Truth I love the way she takes the events of her life and has an honest refreshing way of establishing herself in her music. Whether it's a story or otherwise she's an amazing artist

so glad u picked up on the rep references too!!!

Thank you for the thorough review. Interesting that her family and Joe had a huge influence in her career. She had nurture and was grounded. So important for growing up.

I think it's fascinating that we expect taylor to be relatable and 'normal' when she hasn't lived a normal life. like how are we surprised that that she comes across as out of touch at times when she's been famous since she was literally a teenager? at the end of the day she's a product of her life experiences. not saying we shouldn't critique her but I just think sometimes are expectations of celebs are not realistic. even she's admitted that she feels frozen at the age she got famous and has to continuously work on maturing. there's nothing normal about fame

I really love how smart and well-spoken are you. I admire how you analyse things! What do you think about Miley being in her pre-reputation era when “nobody saw her for year” and not promoting new album and not performing at events, not touring? Her Vogue interview actually was so sad, I almost cried while reading it. She now spends 97% of her time at home… really want to see your opinion about ESV album and and era

I was waiting for your commentary on this!

Hi! I'm from Brasil and I simply love your videos. You are so smart and well-spoken that I can learn an infinitve of new words in english by just hearing you speak! Congratualitions on your content and comunication skills🎉

Our trusted reporter. I feel that there was number of important questions to ask from Taylor about her fans, the environmental impact she has, the business side of things but I understand why they kept a positive note. They choose her for Person of the Year because she was a positive light in a very hard and difficult year, so having a more "serious" interview would be a strange editorial choice. I think the angle was trying "sell" why Taylor is such a big deal for so many people and overall, i think it worked. Time did a very interesting video about the unseen impact of Taylor you should see, is very interesting. (Business created around the Eras tour) As the infinity stones, there are six in total (five for each finger and one in the center). The person that collects all the infinity stones controls the universe. There are six stolen albums. It might seem to Taylor that once she rerecords all the albums, she is once again in full control of her (cinematic universe). More intriguing for me are the horcruxes, since there are seven. Can she be fueling the Karma album theory?

Thank you, Zack! I was hoping to be able to ”read” this article and interview. As your excellent analysis emphasized, the author was quite talented and made some excellent points. Great also to hear from Taylor herself after her years of quiet seclusion with Joe. 10/10 🎉

You’re completely right that her perception may be that her career was stolen from her, but that wasn’t the actual reality. That was the only line from the article that made me wince a little. She’s so powerful and she’s taking away all of her own agency saying that it was “stolen” from her. It was absolutely a takedown attempt and objectively wrong (illegally recording her, sharing it in the first place let alone editing the video and sharing that version to best support Ye’s narrative) - but she chose to take the step back from public view, reassess, recalibrate, and reform herself before coming back to reclaim her place in the music industry and larger culture. I think she could re-frame the way she hindsights what happened and and view it as an attempted takedown that *could have* permanently ruined her career, and instead of feeding into that and forcing herself to remain at the center of public discourse, she *chose* to take a step back, a hard look and a long break from her public life. An artist can have a career without any public life at all aside from their work. I think she’s doing herself a disservice and discounting her willpower and sheer force of determination by saying that her career “was stolen away from her.” It’s not an object, and only she possesses it. Her popularity was taken away from her temporarily (or perhaps more accurately, it was diluted and in some aspects, dissolved for a time), but that is not the same thing as her career being GONE.

Loved this. You have a lot to offer. Hope you go far.

As always, this is an incredible and in depth analysis. Thank you for doing what you do, swiftologist😽❤️

This is one of your best videos so far. Great discussion!

Yessss, I’m starting my day off right! The article was awesome, thank you for your breakdown as always!

I literally went and bought chips right before this dropped, what a nice surprise!! You're killing it. December swiftologist truly shows how good a break is. You're back better than ever and I love how productive you're being

I just stated lisenting to Evolution of a Snake podcast and am loving it. I love your take on Taylor. Read the interview the moment it came out. I personally love that she mentioned my Queen Kelly Clarkson for pushing the idea of the re-records. I knew about the Tweet but always wondered if they talked. I loved this interview so much & glad she did share a bit more than normal. I would like to know though... if YOU could sit down and INTERVIEW Taylor A. Swift... what would you ask her? PS love when you put the mic in our face. I crack up!

I love seeing this! Thank you for making it

This was a pretty wholesome video 😍 Thank you. Thank you for making this. 😁

Yes! Been waiting for your video!

I just finished the pod, and it wasn’t nearly enough. Never is 🤣 so glad to see this!

I'm so amazed by your thoughts on her overall character, every time it seems like you're walking on a thin gold line between what an obsessive swifty and what a "hater" would say, and it just sounds so open minding. An embodyment of what a true fan should be

You have literally been the best part of my 2023! Your "Revisiting Midnights after the break up" video was suggested to me back in April and the.rest.is.history! I am obsessed with you and Madeline on EOAS too. What a time to be a Swifty with the Swiftologist keeping us critically engaged. Thank you!! 💙

Just a correction, Zach, that I believe Taylor has had to cancel shows one time due to sickness. I believe it was around four shows on the Red Tour due to bronchitis? Don't quote me lol but I'm almost positive

Her close up photos is my favorite!

I believe that there is ongoing litigation between ticketmaster and I wonder if that is cause for her to skirt around the topic. I appreciate your coverage of her article, this was my first time here and now I’m a subscriber! I’m looking forward to your other videos 😊

This has been one of my favorite videos. Very analytical.

Zack ur videos satiate me like no else

What have I been waiting for since the announcement and the cover? Yes. Zac's breakdown. This is what I needed.

"the story has dust on every page" you speak poetry... beautiful

Ok so I know people want her to move on from the whole snakegate thing. And from an outsider's perspective I can see how that feels like the right thing to do. But unless you've had something you cherish and love. Something you've poured your blood, sweat, and tears into-taken away. And then have people in your life you thought had your back and would support you, not even call you and ask "How are you doing?" That's a kind of hurt that will never truly go away. So in some small sense, I totally get how she feels about it.

The way I have been waiting for this video since the second the article dropped

46:05 I think this is a really great topic to dive into, Zac, and would love your insight. The less reliance on traditional media, how the traditional media now writes stories from stan twitter threads, how the fandom shaped this. I'm not sure if you have a video about this already.

gotta say i love your extensive vocab

wow! swiftologist, indeed! i'm loving your videos and the indepth analysis. it makes me feel like i'm talking a college course from you! 🤣😍💖

i could be wrong but i think age plays a huge part in being open in the public eye, not hiding, not caring anymore what people think. im 36 and i've hit the point in my life where i'll do what i want. if someone likes me, great...if they don't, that's fine too. the older you get, the more you don't care about the small and stupid things. you stop caring about the words of others. you live your life to the fullest. and that's exactly what she is doing. i understand some want a private relationship but isn't life more fullfilling to be proud and mention your partner in the spotlight. all she wanted is for someone to see her and that includes being proud in both privacy and in the public eye.

I was waiting for this, thanks for ur hard work

You were able to articulate thoughts I've been ruminating on so clearly. It could be really interesting to talk about paith in a post modern world/ assigning it to concepts like Taylor Swift/culture or the economy...

The reason Taylor can work with family and they come out of it okay, if not better, as a family unit is because they are already rich, without her success. This ism privilege in the spotlight.

hang on. if Midnights was allegedly a collection of songs written at different points throughout Taylor's career, were a couple of those songs potentially songs she couldn't previously release due to Scott Borchetta not giving her the creative license to release them?

When I first saw this article all I wanted was your reaction to it! So thank you for the food. PS: do you have a theory of why we havent gotten a music video for 1989tv? Will we get one? My working theory is that she made one for like "suburban legends" and then realised that "is it over now?" Was the big hit

Pretty sure in "Miss Americana" she said she wanted to be ~seen~ as good. Which I would argue is different from actually being good.

Just began watching the video and already excited! thank you Zack!!

This is one of your best videos

The last comment in that article got me a bit teary eyed, tbh. I never looked at it that way, but yeah. He‘s got a point there.

Amazing video. Thank you!!