Taylor Swift has taken a more active role in politics and has used her platform to bring attention to certain issues. In her music video for “You Need to Calm Down,” Swift ends with a call to action to her fans which urges them to sign a petition on Change.org to ask the United States Senate to take up the Equality Act “which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations.”
Swift referenced that petition on Monday, August 26 during her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards where she took home the honor for Video of the Year.
The pop star, who took home three awards on the night, mentioned the amount of signatures and put the White House on the spot.
“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. It now has half a million signatures, which is five times the amount that it would need to warrant a response from the White House,” Swift said, before gesturing to her wrist to portray checking time as if to call out the White House for inaction and a lack of response.
Well, now Swift has her response.
On Tuesday, August 27, the White House issued their response regarding the Equality Act. The stance echoes previous comments from the White House stating the administration supports equality for all but does not support the bill in its current form.
“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all,” a statement from the White House said back in May. “However, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.”
If you want to continue showing your support for the Equality Act, you can sign Taylor Swift’s petition here.