On pop anthem You Need to Calm Down, the American singer-songwriter cheerfully slams homophobes, telling them “shade never made anyone less gay” and then pays tribute to LGBTQ organisation, GLAAD.
“Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD. sunshine on the street at the parade,” she sings on the track. “But you would rather be in the dark ages, makin’ that sign must’ve taken all night.”
The video for You Need to Calm Down will be released 17 June. Taylor told fans: “I wanted you to hear the song first, then see the video. Because the video is very worth the wait.
“There’s a lot going on in the video so I wanted that to be a separate discovery.”
Listen to You Need to Calm Down below.
Taylor also revealed the title, artwork and release date for her upcoming seventh studio album.
Lover is due for release on 23 August, and will feature the above track as well as Me! with Brendon Urie, which reached the top ten in Australia, UK, US, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland.
Taylor first showed her support for the LGBTQ community earlier this year when she donated $113,000 to an LGBTQ charity in her home state of Tennessee.
Writing a letter to the group she said: “Dear Chris, I’m writing you to say that I’m so inspired by the work you do, specifically in organizing the recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders standing up against the ‘Slate of Hate’ in our state legislature.”
“Please convey my heartfelt thanks to them and accept this donation to support the work you and those leaders are doing. I’m so grateful that they’re giving all people a place to worship. Sincerely, Taylor Swift.”
Last month, she sent a letter to Republican senator Lamar Alexander, urging him to support the Equality Act when it heads to the Senate.
In the letter, she wrote: “As you know, the House just passed the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace, in their homes and in schools.
“For American citizens to be denied jobs or housing based on who they love or how they identify, in my opinion is un-American and cruel.”
She also used the letter to hit out at President Tr*mp, who for the first time since becoming president voiced support for Pride Month, despite his administration imposing policies that make LGBTQ lives harder.
“I personally reject the President’s stance that his administration ‘supports equal treatment of all,’ but that the Equality Act, ‘in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to determine parental and conscience rights,’” she wrote.
“That statement implies that there is something morally wrong with you being anything other than heterosexual or cisgender, which is an incredibly harmful letter to send to a nation full of healthy and loving families with same-sex, non-binary or transgender parents, sons or daughters.”
Related: Taylor Swift gives surprise performance at gay couple’s engagement party.
