Taylor Swift's pattern of releasing albums sparks bizarre political theory on Reddit

Reddit users uncover strange coincidence linking Taylor Swift’s album releases to major political events in China.

Taylor Swift’s famously strategic album rollout timing is now at the centre of an unexpected and humorous internet theory, due to a viral Reddit post suggesting her release dates coincidentally align with the deaths of top Chinese Communist Party officials.

The original post, made by a Reddit user who described themselves as both a Chinese Studies major and a “Pop Girly,” highlighted an oddly consistent pattern: every time Swift releases a new studio album, a prominent CCP figure dies in the same month. While clearly satirical in tone, the observation has gained serious meme momentum.

Here’s the timeline that caught everyone’s attention:

• Taylor Swift (Oct 2006) – Wang Guangmei

• Fearless (Nov 2008) – Li Ximing

• Speak Now (Oct 2010) – Peng Chong

• Red (Oct 2012) – Lin Ruo

• 1989 (Oct 2014) – Luo Qingchang

• Reputation (Nov 2017) – Hou Zongbin

• Lover (Aug 2019) – Guo Zhenqian

• Folklore (Jul 2020) – Song Jinsheng

• Evermore (Dec 2020) – Li Ligong

• Midnights (Oct 2022) – Ding Wenchang

The pattern itself sparked creative commentary from Reddit users. One noted, “She’s never beating the T.S. – 1989 allegations,” referring to the year of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Another added, “I guess she wanted to remind people of that massacre after she promoted communism so heavily with RED.”

Photo: Reuters

Further fuelling the conspiracy’s comedic twist, the original poster joked that Swift’s relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce actually hints at an anti-communist stance. “If you rearrange ‘Travis Kelce,’ you get ‘Avert Sickle,’” they noted. “Sickle is a communist symbol and avert means to ward off.”

Though satirical in nature, the theory has gained viral attention as an example of the internet’s unique ability to mix pop culture, history, and humour.