Taylor Swift slams 'toxic male privilege' during Woman of the Decade speech

She went onto champion fellow female artists and escalated her feud with Scooter Braun

Taylor Swift made several headlines throughout the year and decade after her award winning albums, successful tours, and stand against a few record labels. Following this, she was also named Billboard's woman of the decade on Thursday night, whil her speech did several rounds on social media.

Aside from being grateful for the award, Swift went onto slam the 'toxic male privilege' she claimed to have been victim off and champion fellow female artists while escalating her feud with Scooter Braun.

"Women in music are not allowed to coast," she observed. "We are held at a higher, sometimes impossible-feeling and standard – I've seen a lot," she added. She said that in her early days, critics had speculated that "a male producer or co-writer" was the real reason for her success; or that a "savvy record label" was responsible for making her a star.

"It wasn't," she said. "People want to explain away a woman's success in this industry".

After establishing the discrimination, the singer went onto slam Scooter Braun and attack several other stigmas attached to the women in the music industry – while also clarifying that their success had nothing to do with anyone else.



She said, "I'm fairly certain he knew how I would feel about it, though, and let me just say that the definition of the toxic male privilege in our industry is people saying, 'But he's always been nice to me!' when I'm raising valid concerns about artists and their right to own their music. Of course he's nice to you. If you're in this room, you have something he needs."

"The fact is that private equity is what enabled this man to think, according to his own social media post, that he could 'buy me,' but I'm obviously not going willingly."

"I've learned that the difference between those who can continue to create in that climate usually comes down to this: Who lets that scrutiny break them, and who just keeps making art. I've watched as one of my favourite artists of this decade, Lana Del Rey, was ruthlessly criticised in her early career, and then slowly but surely, she turned into, in my opinion, the most influential artist in pop.”

"I see a fire in the newer faces in our music industry, whose work I absolutely love. I see it in Lizzo, Rosalía, Tayla Parx, Hayley Kiyoko, King Princess, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Megan Thee Stallion, Princess Nokia, Nina Nesbitt, Sigrid, Normani, H.E.R., Maggie Rogers, Becky G, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai, Billie Eilish, and so many other amazing women who are making music right now.” She then concluded by saying that, "It seems like the pressure that could've crushed us made us into diamonds instead."

 

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