if you're going to use Person Of The Year as a reason to talk shit about Taylor Swift (a woman who was assaulted and chose to testify against her assailant and relive her experience in the public eye when she could've easily paid him off) simply because you hate her…fuck off.
— Katie Minard (@KatieMinard) December 6, 2017
taylor swift is a victim of sexual assault. she came forward, she went to court when the man who groped her tried to victim-blame her, & stood up for millions of victims of sexual assault. you don't get to invalidate her experiences just because you don't like her or her music. pic.twitter.com/0DDBrXC660
— brittany (@mogirlprobs) December 6, 2017
Taylor Swift being on Time's Person of the Year cover is WELL DESERVED. She not only went against her own sexual assaulter, she faced the media and the whole world while doing so. AND SHE WON- then after the trial donated money to charities raising awareness about sexual assault. pic.twitter.com/2vTT1x8vR0
— summer (@slaylorstan) December 6, 2017
seeing people invalidate taylor swift being on the cover of time with the other silence breakers is so frustrating. she experienced sexual assault alongside the other victims. you’re only harming the movement by invalidating her.
— beck (@erskinerecords) December 6, 2017
The fact that people are mad Taylor is featured when she took a DJ who asaulted her to court just to make a statement is beyond my comprehension at this point…
— #REPUTATION ??? (@_joaquingr791) December 6, 2017
Supporters cited the fact that Taylor won a sexual assault lawsuit against a former DJ who had groped her during a meet and greet, seeking only a single dollar in damages. In the closing statements for the case, her lawyer expressed his hope that the verdict would help set a precedent that would aid in protecting sexual assault victims by law, saying the single dollar was meant to be symbolic, “the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation.”
Taylor Swift granted Time the first interview since her trial, in which she stoutly refused to accept the blame for what happened to her. Writes Time reporter Eliana Dockterman:
“When asked why the pictures taken during the assault didn’t show the front of her skirt wrinkled as evidence of any wrongdoing, she said simply, ‘Because my ass is located at the back of my body.’ When asked if she felt guilty about Mueller losing his job, she said, ‘I’m not going to let you or your client make me feel in any way that this is my fault. Here we are years later, and I’m being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are the product of his decisions—not mine.'”