Taylor Swift, honored as Time’s 2023 Person of the Year, opened up about her deepfriendship with Beyoncé, calling her the most precious gem of a person.
Taylor Swift and Beyonce (via Getty Images and Instagram)Key HighlightTaylor Swift describes Beyonce as the most precious gem of a person citing herwarmth and kindnessBoth artists have publicly supported each other’s projects, attending each other’spremieresTaylor Swift, the pop sensation, was named Time’s 2023 Person of the Year. In anexclusive cover interview, she openly shared about her bond with fellow superstarBeyonce.The singer referred to Beyonce as the “most precious gem of a person.” Swift talkedabout the warmth, humor, and kindness that define their friendship. Swift’sfriendship came to light when she attended the London premiere of Beyonce’sconcert film, Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce.In her interview, Swift shared her love for Beyonce, citing how she challengesindustry norms. “She’s such a great disrupter of music-industry norms,” Taylor Swiftstated.”She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge archaic businesspractices.” This acknowledgment shows Swift’s huge respect for Beyonce’scontributions to the music industry.Despite their mutual admiration, Swift expressed frustration with the media’stendency to put their tours against one another. Both artists had highlysuccessful stadium tours, but only their performances seemed to attractcomparisons. “There were so many stadium tours this summer, but the only onesthat were compared were me and Beyonce,” she said.
She pointed out that the media and fan culture can fuel competitiveness amongwomen in the music industry. She said that clearly it’s very lucrative for the mediaand stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when those two artistsin question refuse to participate in that discussion.Swift celebrated the success of both her and Beyoncé’s tours, seeing it as a victoryfor women in the industry. She highlighted the cultural effect of their live shows aswell as the success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, calling the summer as a three-partsummer of feminine extravaganza.Swift explains we’ve been taught that things women gravitate towards are morefrivolous than the things that stereotypically gendered men gravitate toward. Shealso added that if we look at it from the most cynical perspective, feminine ideasbecoming profitable means more female art will be created and it’s incrediblyencouraging.Swift and Beyoncé’s friendship has received public approval in recent months.Beyoncé showed her support for Swift during the Los Angeles premiere of The ErasTour Film in October. Swift reciprocated by attending Beyoncé’s concert filmpremiere in November.Swift expressed her gratitude for Beyoncé’s influence in an Instagram post, writingthat she is so thankful she will never know what her life would’ve been like withoutBeyonce’s influence. She has taught her and every other artist to flout theboundaries and reject industry norms.