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A resurfaced photograph has netizens riled up against Taylor Swift. The pop star faced massive backlash online as an X, formerly Twitter, user, @dom_lucre, re-posted a controversial photograph of the singer from 2009. The photograph showcased Taylor Swift posing for a picture with a fan wearing a t-shirt with a swastika on it.
Netizens were taken aback by the resurfaced picture, which stirred up a row more than a decade ago. People joked around about a variety of comical reasons for Taylor's decision to take the photograph and talked about the evolution of the symbol. Others were quick to get on her case and even compared her with a long line of famous people who were caught sporting the symbol. One user said:
The resurfaced picture showcased Taylor Swift sporting a white dress with the initials JH written on it, smiling and posing alongside a fan wearing a white shirt covered in red paint and a large red swastika in the middle of it. The picture was taken in 2009 during Katy Perry's 25th birthday party in West Hollywood. Taylor Swift was 19 years old when the photograph was taken.
The image caused quite a stir when it surfaced in 2009 and led to a lot of racism allegations against the then-up-and-coming singer. The singer's representative had to put out a statement clarifying that she had taken pictures with hundreds of people that day and that she did not realize what was on the guy's shirt.
The man, who was identified as 22-year-old model AJ English, also apologized to Swift and stated that the singer might not have seen what was on his shirt. He defended himself by stating that he was not a racist and did not support Nazism. He claimed that the symbol was initially an "X" but became "perverted" later on.
Taylor Swift's Swastika scandal caused quite a stir on X
The photograph, shared on August 21 by Don Lucre, a former hip-hop executive, went viral and amassed over 922,000 views at the time of writing. Lucre shared the photograph and wrote,
"I’ll never forget when Taylor Swift stood beside a Swastika in 2009."
Underneath the tweet, some people criticized her and claimed that she "sold her soul." Netizens were quick to compare Taylor to a long line of celebrities who were once spotted alongside a swastika, including Prince Harry and Justin Trudeau. People made jokes about the whole ordeal. This was also the same year Kanye West infamously interrupted Swift's VMA win, so the rapper was also mentioned.
Netizens were also quick to defend the Midnight Rain singer by claiming that it was not that serious or that she might not have noticed the symbol on the shirt. A few people gave explanations on why the symbol does not represent a swastika and how its meaning evolved as time went on.
Katy Perry's 2009 birthday party was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed, and all guests were required to wear white. The "JH" initials on Taylor Swift's dress stood for Julianne Hough, Taylor's friend and professional dancer. Hough appeared on Dancing with the Stars and even won two seasons of the show before returning as a judge.
While Taylor Swift's representative had released a statement in 2009 when the photo first surfaced, she has yet to comment on the resurfacing or the criticism.
