Whoopi Goldberg has hit back at the conspiracy theory that Taylor Swift is secretly working for the Pentagon.
During an episode of The View, which aired on 11 January, the 68-year-old actor and her co-hosts first discussed the theory, after it was featured on a segment from Fox News. Goldberg started the discussion by showing a clip from Fox News, which included Jesse Watters alleging that in 2019, the US Department of Defense’s psychological operations unit pitched the idea of turning Swift into “a [psychological operation] for combatting online misinformation”.
While reacting to the conspiracy theory about Swift on The View, Goldberg criticised the Fox News segment for “worrying about the weirdest stuff”. The Sister Act star then praised the singer for how she’s shaped the political world, referring to how Swift managed to drive record-breaking numbers to voter registration on Vote.org, after urging her Instagram followers to take action.
“She got people to go out and vote, including probably all kinds of people that you rather not have voting,” Goldberg said. “If she can get people to do that, why would you say that was a bad thing or talk about it like you were disparaging it?”
After Goldberg called the conspiracy about Swift “baloney,” View host Sunny Hostin chimed in to share her thoughts about Watters. She claimed that as Swift spent part of her childhood in Tennessee – with her career starting in country music – members of the Republican party initially believed that the singer’s political views would align with theirs.
“I think the Jesse Watters of the world thought that she was their princess,” Hostin quipped. “And then all of the sudden, she decides to endorse a Democrat in Tennessee. She was in support of March for Our Lives against gun violence, she supported the LGBTQ community in her music videos. And she said, ‘I’m pro-choice,’ and then she said, ‘And vote.’ They picked the wrong princess.”
Later in the conversation, Goldberg once again criticised the theory that Swift is working with the Pentagon, as the actor went on to shake her head. “I’m tired of dumb people. I’m just, I’m tired of it. I can’t handle it,” she said.
Hostin then referred to how Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh spoke to Politico to push back at the idea that Swift worked with the US Department of Defense.
“As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off,” she told the publication, referring to a title of Swift’s songs from her 1989 album.
During this week’s segment of Jesse Watters Primetime, the TV host first questioned if Swift was an asset for the Pentagon. “Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?” he asked. “Well, around four years ago, the Pentagon’s Psychological Operations unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a Nato [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] meeting.”
In addition to his claim that the “Anti-Hero” singer was a “PsyOp for combatting online misinformation,” he continued to question if she worked with the government because of how she’s encouraged her followers to vote.
“Hundreds of thousands of young Taylor Swift fans all of a sudden registered to vote,” he said. “I wonder who got to her, from the White House or from wherever?"
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Andrea Hailey, who’s the Chief Executive Officer of Vote.org, slammed the conspiracy theory that Swift worked with the Pentagon.
“Hi, CEO of Vote.org here. Our partnership with @taylorswift13 is helping all Americans make their voices heard at the ballot box,” Hailey wrote. “Not a psy-op or a Pentagon asset. Just the biggest nonpartisan platform in America helping young people register & cast their vote.”
In September 2023, Swift first called on her fans to register to vote, in honour of National Voter Registration Day. Hours after she made that announcement on social media, Vote.org’s communication director, Nick Morrow, announced that voter registration numbers had gone up immensely.
“Fun fact: after @taylorswift13 posted on Instagram today directing her followers to register to vote on @votedotorg, our site was averaging 13,0000 users every 30 minutes,” Morrow wrote on X/Twitter. “13! Let’s just say her reputation for being a mastermind is very well-earned.”
The Independent has contacted a representative for Fox News and Swift for comment.
