Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
An up-and-coming pop girlie is beefing with Taylor Swift on Instagram, but it sort of seems like it could end up being for the greater good. Pop singer Eli has spent the past few days battling with Swifties, first joking that Swift would “never be trans” and then pivoting to discussing artists’ rights and the long-rumored conflict between Swift and Olivia Rodrigo. There’s honestly a lot going on here, so let’s just get right into it.
To fully understand what’s going on, we have to go back to October, when Eli was promoting her album Stage Girl. As every singer is required to do now, Eli was pumping out TikToks in the lead-up to her album release, including one that read “my album ‘stage girl’ comes out in 4 weeks so it’s time to start unnecessary beef.” In that video, Eli, who is trans, looked directly into the camera and said, “Taylor Swift, you will never be trans” before launching into her song “Girl of Your Dreams.” On its own, it’s a very funny video.
Swift was not the only pop star in Eli’s crosshairs. She also started “unnecessary beef” with Zara Larsson (“Where is our remix?”) and told Sabrina Carpenter that she, in fact, is trans. No grade of beef, necessary or un-, came about from this at the time, but Eli’s Swift video did go a little viral.
Last week, Eli posted another TikTok of her doing a photo shoot in a kitschy showgirl costume, plastic karaoke microphone in hand. In the video, which has since been deleted, Eli once again says, “Taylor Swift, you will never be trans” before posing for a photo. This clip seems to have broken through to the Swifties. On Thursday, Eli posted multiple slides on her Instagram Story, first addressing the Swifties and then Swift herself.
“Swifties are so similar to maga,” Eli wrote on one slide, adding on the next, “They are mad at me rn because Taylor Swift will never be a trans woman.” Eli wrote that she had “100+ swifties” in her DMs that were “calling me fat and a man because I said she will never be trans.”
“I am not afraid of the predatory establishment upheld by that calculated fame fucking billionaire,” Eli wrote. “Give Olivia Rodrigo her publishing back and then we’ll talk!!”
When Rodrigo’s album Guts debuted, fans noted that the song “Deja Vu” kind of sounded like Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” Rodrigo herself admitted that she was inspired by the song (although not necessarily that she interpolated it) and later gave Swift, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent writing credits on the track, which gave them royalties from the hit song. Rodrigo, who previously spoke at length about her love for Swift and even helped promote Fearless (Taylor’s Version), has since distanced herself from Swift. When asked about the “Deja Vu” credits while promoting her second album, Guts, Rodrigo told The Guardian, “I was so green as to how the music industry worked, the litigious side … I feel like now I know so much more about the industry and I just feel … better equipped in that regard.”
Why, yes. In her lengthiest Instagram Story, Eli really went off on Swift. “How are you gonna be the face of ‘the great american songwriter’ and completely betray the art of songwriting by unjustly & selfishly using ur power and dominance to steal the rights and royalties of a young up and coming songwriter because she shouted 4 doubles of a gang vocal in an incredible distinct and singular pop song that is far from [derivative] and DOES NOT EMULATE OR BELONG TO YOU AT ALL,” Eli wrote. For the record, no one involved in this situation has ever said that it was Swift who demanded a credit.
“How are you gonna degrade the integrity of songwriting and turn your back on a young up and coming woman in the industry because you are greedy and mentally crystallized at 12 years old on that tennessee radio show where they told you ‘you’ll never be good enough,’” Eli continued. She then went back to addressing Swifties, saying that all Swift does is “steal your money and buy more houses.”
Eli then added credit where it was due, noting that “folklore + evermore is an amazing album.”
One more thing. After her Instagram Story posts became a talking point, Eli took her thoughts to the main grid. She posted a letter to Swift on Instagram and X, writing, “I humbly plead for you to use your power and influence for good.” Eli went on to ask Swift to encourage her “powerful counterparts and contemporaries” to sit down with the heads of the major labels and streaming services and “begin the process of restructuring the exploitative royalty splits that keep us dormant in the industry, from $.003 payout to $0.3 payout as well begin the necessary pressure for the restructuring of record label and publishing deals in order to end the oppression and exploitation of working musicians, artists, and creatives beyond.”
Eli then acknowledged that this is not Swift’s personal responsibility, but that “the corporation that is ‘Taylor Swift’ holds an extraordinary and INCOMPARABLE cultural and economic power” and that that kind of power “could and should be used to abolish these abusive systemic structures.” Eli then offered to send Swift a Zoom link if she ever wanted to chat further. Eli signed off as “the girl who said you will never be trans (however, always open to the contrary).”
Interestingly, these two have more in common than either of them might think. Artists getting a fair share is kind of Taylor’s whole thing. It has come up again and again over her career, whether through her own rerecording process, her moves to get artists better rates on streaming platforms, or the recent news that a clause in her contract will earn other artists a payday when Universal Music Group sells its Spotify stock. Perhaps she and Eli should get on a Zoom.
No. She has been busy seeing Sadie Sink on the West End and going to Travis Kelce’s teammate’s wedding in Greece.
The Cut has reached out to a representative for Swift and will update this post if they give us a comment.
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