Swift had been famously quiet on politics before this endorsement.
ADVERTISEMENTThe world can't shake off Taylor Swift's bombshell: That even she has a political opinion.
The typically apolitical Swift's stunning endorsement of Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen in deep red Tennessee left fans on Monday either embracing the "Love Story" singer or vowing to turn off her music.
In an Instagram message posted on Sunday, Swift acknowledge her previous lack of political activity and explained her concern about women's and LBGTQ issues.
"In the past I've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now," she wrote.
"I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country."
Swift supporters praised her for stepping into what has uncharted waters.
"It takes a lot of guts to express what you believe in, especially when a large portion of your core audience, your bread and butter .. may not share those beliefs. Good for you, @taylorswift13," wrote a Twitter user named @lindsaykustich.
"#Taylor Swift took her sexual assault perpetrator to court and won, spreading the message that assault matters," wrote a Twitter user Joanna Turner Bisgrove.
"Bravo to her for using her influence to spread the message that voting in elections matter and that educating yourself on the issues and where your reps stand matters."
Former Arkansas governor and two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee mocked Swift and her fans, saying they're too young to matter anyway.
"So @taylorswift13 has every right to be political but it won't impact election unless we allow 13 yr old girls to vote," Huckabee tweeted. "Still with #MarshaBlackburn."
The GOP's bad blood against Swift was sweet music to her liberal fans.
"Mansplainers gonna 'splain, 'splain, 'splain, 'splain, 'splain," US Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., tweeted at one of Swfit's male critics.
The Tennessee race, to replace retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker, is one of the nation's most closely watched, because Democrats have a shot at flipping a seat that's been held by Republicans since 1995.
Recent polls show Bredesen, a former governor of the Volunteer State, locked in a tight battle with US Rep. Marsha Blackburn, one of President Trump's most ardent supporters.
Famed moviemakerRob Reiner welcomed Swift to the world of political activism.
"A big shout out to @taylorswift13. for speaking out," he wrote on Twitter. "You can single handedly change this country. Impress on your fans how critical and powerful their voices are. If you get them to the polls on Nov.6, everything you care about will be protected. #VOTE."
ADVERTISEMENTRepublicans were quick to brand Swift as just another left-leaning entertainment world elite.
"If you haven't heard, multimillionaire pop star Taylor Swift came down from her ivory tower to tell hardworking Tennesseans to vote for Phil Bredesen," according to a statement from the National Republican Senate Committee.
The 10-time Grammy winner Swift, one of the world's biggest pop stars with more than 83 million Twitter and 112 million Instagram followers, has been conspicuously absent from the political scene.
While peers like Beyonce, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus were active in the Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, Swift stuck to the bleachers.
And alt-right trolls, writing in 4Chan message boards and the Daily Stormer, and have long celebrated Swift as their ideal female — pretty, white, blonde and without a political opinion.
ADVERTISEMENT"She stays silent and people condemn her. She speaks and people condemn her, but I think she knew that would happen- and I think she doesn't care," wrote a Twitter user named @BrkMeLikAPromis.
"If you're damned if you do & damned if you don't, you might as well take a stand for what you believe. Proud of you @taylorswift13."