Going home between concerts in Toronto doesn’t make Taylor Swift a bad person.
A few weeks ago, more than 500,000 people descended on the city of Toronto to see Taylor Swift perform six sold out shows at the Rogers Centre. The shows were spread out across two weekends, three concerts each weekend, with nearly a week-long break scheduled between each cluster.
While Swift performed to crowds of nearly 60,000 people every night, her stay in Toronto brought in more than just those who had tickets. In fact, many fans who didn’t have tickets still travelled to Toronto hoping they might get lucky and acquire some before the shows. Others simply hung around the city hoping they might get a glimpse of the singer outside her hotel or inside a local restaurant. But to the dismay of many, almost immediately after her show concluded on Nov. 16, Swift boarded her private jet and left Toronto, flying to Nashville where she stayed during her five-day break between weekends.
And just like nearly everything else Swift does, this made lots of people online upset.
At first, fans thought Swift had departed Toronto to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce play for the Kansas City Chiefs in Buffalo. But when it became clear that the pop star was simply headed to one of her homes in Nashville, the sentiment of the conversation quickly changed.
Many fans wondered why Swift chose not to stay in Toronto between weekends, believing that her speedy departure displayed a lack of regard for the city. Others were upset that Swift didn’t show her face at a local restaurant or boutique to drum up some publicity and try and convey that she had at least some interest in Toronto. Whatever the reason, conversation surrounding the singer’s departure was vastly negative and incredibly stupid.
Why anyone would think it was reasonable to expect Taylor Swift, one of the most famous people in the world, to hang around Toronto is baffling. Due to her incredible celebrity status, it would be close to impossible for Swift to go out and explore the city safely. She likely didn’t have her regular security team and even if she did, the attention she would draw would be so enormous that it would still be unsafe.
It’s not like she can wander through the Eaton Centre and check out the Distillery Winter Village. She’d be absolutely swarmed and would likely do more harm to the surrounding businesses who are trying to operate than good. Her presence alone would warrant the need to shut down stores and restaurants, and if they chose not to shut down, word of her location would spread, and hundreds of fans would appear within minutes trying to get a glimpse of her.
Not only would her appearance completely bog up the surrounding area, but it could also lead to fans getting hurt. The crowds caused by her presence would be unregulated, leading to dangerous situations caused by pushing and shoving. Furthermore, if crowds spilled onto busy city streets, they could cause traffic build ups or accidents.
But putting all of these factors aside, why is it unreasonable for Swift to want to go home? Due to the aforementioned reasons, if she had stayed in Toronto, she likely would have spent all five days locked up in her hotel room, bored out her mind. At least going back to Nashville she could sleep in her own bed, visit her family and spend time with her cats. If you had a jam-packed schedule like Swift’s, wouldn’t you take any chance to have a break too?
Overall, this controversy has shown that people don’t see Taylor Swift as a human being. If she was your sister or your friend or your coworker, you wouldn’t begrudge her for taking a break from her busy and chaotic lifestyle. Instead, you’d support her and wish her well, because that’s how we treat other human beings.
Despite her celebrity status, Taylor Swift doesn’t owe anyone anything. So if she wants to go home between Eras Tour weekends, you’d better get over it. It’s not like angry people on Twitter are going to change her mind anyway.