Thoughts on Taylor Swift Winning Person of the Year 

On December 6, Taylor Swift was named Time’s Person of The Year. She has been titled this due to her having nearly two decades’ worth of fame and influence. Taylor has not only shaped the music industry, she has also made a positive appearance and change for our world. Taylor is currently on the “Eras Tour” where she’s made 10-13 million per show, so some people agree that she deserves this award. 

This year, Swift started the “Eras Tour” which has been the highest-grossing tour of all time. This tour consists of her performing songs from all the albums throughout her career. The Eras Tour is a worldwide tour that lasts until November of 2024 with over 140 dates. Taylor is known for being one of the most charitable artists in the music industry. She has donated to financial assistance, food and nutrition, temporary housing, debris cleanup, and animal sheltering. 

Although there are over 266 million “Swifties,” there are some people who do not believe that Swift deserves this award. According to CNN’s writer and editor Holly Thomas, Taylor didn’t deserve to win this award. “The idea isn’t necessarily that the ‘best’ person wins — though that’s certainly been the case at times — it’s that the person who’s had the most influence, for ‘good or ill’ over the previous 12 months, is recognized. Previous winners have included Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Greta Thunberg, Martin Luther King Jr. and Elon Musk. This year’s shortlist included the Hollywood strikers, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Barbie, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Trump prosecutors, King Charles III and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Time ultimately named Altman CEO of the year. I think he should have taken the top title,” Thomas said. 

In Thomas’ opinion, she thinks that Taylor is a pleasant person and she has had a stellar year. She claims that Taylor is a great artist and person, but she just doesn’t find her story compelling. If she had to choose, she would make the award go to someone more problematic. This award did not only affect Holly Thomas, but others as well. 

On Thursday, December 7, Elon Musk tweeted, “Some risk of popularity decline after this award. I speak from experience lol.” He joked around implying that Taylor may be less popular due to winning this award because he speaks from experience since he won the award in 2021. 

Taylor Swift’s award has been supported by most, but not by all.