The NY Times Taylor Swift ‘Gaylor’ controversy explained

The New York Times has been in hot water the past few days for publishing 'Gaylor' theories. So if that sentence has left you confused already, keep reading to find out what's happening.

Gaylor refers to fan theories that Taylor Swift is secretly gay. The speculation has been going on for years, and has been known to make Swift uncomfortable - yet the Times decided to run the op-ed anyway.

On January 4, editor Anna Marks published a piece titled 'Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do', asking the question what if Taylor Swift, arguably the biggest star in the world right now, was gay?

Marks is not the first, nor the last, to ask such a question. Gaylors (the name given to those who believe Swift to be non-heterosexual) have been criticised for treating Swift like a fictional character to find out secrets about, rather than a real human being.

Swift's friendship with Karlie Kloss is at the centre of most of these rumours, with many suggesting their relationship was much more. Often pulling in lyrics from Swift's work and imagery in her music videos to justify their claims.

But Marks seems to go all in on this theory. Citing what she believes to be coded messages - pronoun choice, allyship, closet imagery. At one point during the 5,000 word piece, Marks wrote that some queer people feel Swift has "already come out, at least to us."

Unsurprisingly, many couldn't believe such baseless theories, often only shared in a small circle of social media, had made its way into a national newspaper.

Some argued that The New York Times had misinterpreted Gaylors. One fan wrote "Gaylor is about shared appreciation of queerness in Taylor's art, not trying to prove she's gay."

Another fan couldn't believe the Times were writing about "unedited gaylor Tumblr theories."

Many pointed out that whatever Swift's sexuality is (although she has only publicly dated men) no one is owed the right to know.

Fans of Swift weren't the only ones upset at the op-ed.

An anonymous "associate" of Swift told CNN on Saturday that her entire team is furious about the piece.

"Because of her massive success there is a Taylor-shaped hole in people's ethics", the source argued. "There seems to be no boundary some journalists won't cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive untrue, and inappropriate it is." The source added that such an invasive piece would not have been written about "Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans."

2023 pop culture seemed to orbit around Swift and her relationships, so perhaps lets take a step back this year.

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