Swifties lambast anti-racist activist Saira Rao for labeling TIME’s Taylor Swift person of the year cover ‘white nonsense’ – while also claiming the ‘white woman billionaire’ could stop Middle East conflict with a single Instagram post
- Anti-racism activist Saira Rao calls TIME's choice for Person of the Year 'white nonsense'
- Taylor Swift was selected following her hugely successful Eras Tour, concert film and the release of her re-recorded albums
- Rao immediately faced backlash for her stance, criticizing her for thinking Swift could resolve geopolitical conflicts
Political activist Saira Rao is being criticized for calling Taylor Swift's pick for TIME's Person of the Year “white nonsense” and claiming the pop star could bring peace to the Middle East with an Instagram post.
Rao is co-founder of Race To Dinner, an organization that facilitates programs focused on conversations about race, and co-founder of Here4TheKids, a group that advocates for an outright ban on guns and fossil fuels.
“The white American female billionaire who could end the genocide of Palestinians with an IG post is TIME Person of The Year,” Rao, formerly known as Twitter, said.
“White nonsense, white violence, white love for black and brown genocide.”
The activist, who criticized the magazine's selection, co-authored a piece published by TIME last year titled White women must do more to fight racism.
TIME selected Taylor Swift as its 2023 Person of the Year. Political activist Saira Rao criticized the choice as “white nonsense” and said Swift could end the conflict in the Middle East with one Instagram post
TIME noted the enormous impact this year's Eras tour had on the country's economy, culture and even politics, saying of Swift, “Carrying an economy on your back is a lot for one person.”
The Bad Blood hitmaker's tour sparked a phenomenon experts dubbed 'Swiftonomics' due to its contagious effect on local economies as fans spent thousands of pounds on hotels, travel, food and drink and costumes in preparation for the event.
Swift, a multiple Grammy Award-winning singer, officially became a billionaire in October, thanks in large part to the success of her tour and concert film.
Swift “achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: bringing together art and commerce to release an energy of historic power,” TIME said of why they chose her as Person of the Year — a selection predicted by DailyMail.com.
Editor-in-chief of TIME Sam Jacobs defended the selection: 'In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift has found a way to transcend boundaries and be a source of light.'
'No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well.'
In September, Swift got 35,000 fans registered to vote after encouraging them to “raise their voices” on National Voter Registration Day.
Rao's Twitter bio reads “A truce now, free Palestine.” Following Hama's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, Israel launched a brutal offensive that has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Gaza.
In November, there was a weeklong ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas that allowed the release of hostages, but Israel resumed its offensive on Friday morning.
Israel claimed Hamas had “violated” the ceasefire early and launched rockets into Israel before its expiry, with images shared on social media appearing to show attacks on the town of Sderot, close to the Gaza border .
The response to Rao's sharp attack was immediate. “How dare Taylor not fix the Middle East peace process,” one user replied.
“Imagine believing that a pop singer can end what amounts to hundreds of years of brutal geopolitical conflict,” said a user named Jake. 'Why are you so?'
Others compared the idea of Swift calling for a ceasefire to the controversial Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial that was mocked for being tone deaf.
Smoldering rubble in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6. Israel resumed its offensive after a week-long ceasefire with Hamas
A user named Brittany said, “Just like when Kendall Jenner ended racism with a Pepsi can.”
“Saira Rao clearly thinks Taylor Swift is God. She should be more careful what she says about someone so powerful,” said a user named Adele Scalia.
Even X added a community note that gives context to Rao's post.
“Historically, conflicts and wars have not ended because of Instagram posts. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that an Instagram post from Taylor Swift will end the war in Gaza,” the note said.