Taylor Swift Shuts Down Haters Claiming She’s Not An LGBTQ Ally: Don’t ‘Twist This Positivity’

When a rumor surfaced that Taylor Swift would be kissing Katy Perry in her new music video, the singer responded to set the record straight, and defended herself against those who think she’s not an actual LGBTQ ally.

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry had a sweet reunion in the 29-year-old’s “You Need To Calm Down” video, but before the footage dropped, there was speculation that a lot more would be going on between them than just a hug. Ahead of the video release, a rumor spread on the Internet that claimed Katy and Taylor would share a kiss in the video, and fans were not happy at the insensitive idea. So, Taylor took to Tumblr to shut down the report, and also fired off a response to anyone who has been criticizing the way she’s very publicly been supporting the LGBTQ community over the last several weeks.

“Guys. That is ABSOLUTELY false,” she wrote. “To be an ally is to understand the difference between advocating and baiting. Anyone trying to twist this positivity into something it isn’t needs to clam down. It costs zero dollars to not step on our gowns.” Earlier this month, Taylor made headlines when she wrote an open letter to a Senator in her home state of Tennessee and asked him to support the Equality Act. After that, she celebrated the beginning of Pride Month by wearing a rainbow-colored ensemble for her performance at Wango Tango on June 1.

Then, she released “You Need To Calm Down,” which is all about accepting people for who they are and not putting anyone down because of it. The track even features the lyric, “‘Cause shade never made anyone less gay,” and the video features openly gay and transgender celebrities, like Ellen DeGeneres, Laverne Cox, the cast of Queer Eye and plenty more.

Taylor also performed at the historic Stonewall Inn — a gay bar in New York City — on June 14 to show her support for the LGBTQ community. She sang her hit song “Shake It Off,” and even spent some time mingling with the crowd.