Not that it was much of a surprise to anyone, but Taylor Swift went home from the MTV VMAs with the “Video Of The Year” award.
As the “You Need To Calm Down” singer took the stage with many of those who appeared in her video, Swift used the moment to spread a very important message.
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“I just want to say that this is a fan-voted award, so I first want to say thank-you to the fans because in this video several points were made so you voting for this video means you want a world where we are all treated equally under the law. Regardless of who we love, regardless of how we identify. At the end of this video, there was a petition, there still is a petition for the Equality Act which basically just says we all deserve equal rights under the law,” Swift commented.
“I want to thank everyone who signed that petition because it now has half-a-million signatures which is five times the amount it would need to warrant a response from the White House,” Swift said while looking at her watch.
“I love my cast, I am so grateful to everyone who was in this video, the ones that are here, the ones that are at home. We love you so much,” she said ended her speech. “My cast live their lives so authentically, thank you for being the example that you are.”
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“If you’re a young child that’s out there watching this show who is different, who feels misunderstood, we have never needed you more than now to share your art, share your story, share your truth with the world,” Todrick Hall then added on.
On Tuesday, the White House responded to Swift’s speech, confirming that the Trump administration would not be supporting the Equality Act.
“The Trump Administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told People in a statement. “However, the House-passed bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.”
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was then asked about Swift’s remarks during a segment on Martha MacCallum’s Fox News show.
She replied, “I would love to survey the audience if they know what that even is, what the Equality Act is and isn’t.
“But she’s welcome to have her opinion.”
Conway then accidentally mocked Trump by singing the lyrics to Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down”: “If you say it on the street, that’s a knockout/ If you put it in a tweet, that’s a cop out,” before adding: “I love that… that basically is Washington in a nutshell.”
