Swift’s dominance drew criticism from across the political spectrum as cultural debasement

Evidence

By 2023, Swift’s cultural omnipresence reached new heights when Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain, hired a dedicated reporter solely to cover her. A backlash to her preeminence erupted across the political and cultural spectrum. Conservative critic Mark Hemingway lamented that her dominance reflected a debased cultural landscape: “Swift is very, very good at serving an audience that has been conditioned to accept less in terms of musical and lyrical sophistication.” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 635