Taylor Swift gives £86k to fight against Tennessee’s ‘hate laws’

Her donation was a response to a series of bills which have been criticised as a “slate of hate” 
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Taylor Swift has made another intervention in local politics and donated money to an LGBT advocacy group in her adopted state of Tennessee. The pop star gave $113,000 (£86,000) to the Tennessee Equality Project after being “inspired” by its work fighting for LGBT rights.

Swift said her donation was a response to a series of bills introduced in Tennessee which have been criticised as a “slate of hate” by LGBT activists.

One, the Tennessee Natural Marriage Act, would ban gay marriage in the state. Another would change laws relating to nudity in locker rooms, which critics say unfairly targets trans people. Chris Sanders, TEP’s director, shared news of Swift’s donation on Facebook, along with a letter from Swift.

It states: “Dear Chris, I’m writing to you to say that I’m so inspired by the work you do, specifically in organising the recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders standing up against the ‘slate of hate’ in our state legislature.

Inspired: Swift gave $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project (Rich Polk/Getty)
Getty Images

“Please convey my heartfelt thanks to them and accept this donation to support the work you and those leaders are doing.”

It is the latest high-profile political intervention in Tennessee by Swift in six months, after she announced her support for Democratic candidates in November’s mid-term elections.

The 29-year-old broke her long-held political silence in October last year, writing in a lengthy Instagram post that Republican Party candidates’ stance on LGBT issues was a major factor in her choice.

She said: “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.

“I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG.

“I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of colour is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.”

Despite Swift’s intervention, Republican Marsha Blackburn was elected to the Senate, seeing off the singer’s preferred candidate, Phil Bredesen.

Swift was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue her music career aged 14.

She now divides her time between Tennessee and New York.

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