Taylor Swift leaned into sorcery speculations after a strange coincidence occurred during one of her concerts. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter was in Buenos Aires as part of her Eras tour and began to perform her song “Labyrinth” from her 2022 album, Midnights. Just as she sang the lyrics, “I thought the plane was going down / How’d you turn it right around,” a plane could be seen flying right over the stadium. Swift commented on the coincidence on her Instagram, sharing a video of the incident and the caption, “Never beating the sorcery allegations.”
Swift’s comment appears to be in reference to a number of witchcraft allegations the singer has faced throughout her career. In 2017, Swift’s song “…Ready for it?” on her album Reputation featured the lyrics, “They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one. So light me up (light me up), light me up (light me up).” Her set design focused on images of fire and snakes as if Swift identified with those witches. Swift’s 2020 album, Evermore, featured the song “Willow,” which the singer said “sounds like casting a spell to make someone fall in love with you.” During the music video for “Willow,” Swift can be seen joining a group of dancers around a campfire that looks like some sort of occult ritual. The scene is somewhat out of place for the rest of the video. In a social media post, she featured a photo of herself with the comment, “Witches be like ‘Sometimes I just want to listen to music while pining away/sulking/staring out a window.’ It’s me. I’m witches.”
Her Eras tour has also not avoided scrutiny. In October, she posted an Instagram post to her fans, writing, “I’ve been watching videos of you guys in the theaters dancing and prancing and recreating choreography, creating inside jokes, casting spells, getting engaged, and just generally creating the exact type of joyful chaos we’re known for.” The mention of “casting spells” earned her some ire, including a comment from former Republican Georgia gubernatorial candidate Kandiss Taylor, who responded, “Did you really just praise your fans for making videos with your music and ‘casting spells’ @taylorswift13? What is wrong with you? I have heard from others that attended this last tour that you had some satanic nods in your show. I didn’t want to believe it.”
A movie theater worker pointed out the “cultish” attitude of Swift’s fans. She shared a brief clip on TikTok that showed fans standing in the theater aisles and staring as if hypnotized at the screen while others held hands and rotated in a circle. “What Swifties look like to movie theatre workers. Low key the cultiest thing I’ve ever seen,” wrote the TikTok user. A similar video was shown on TMZ as well. The Daily Mail called Swift’s fan base “mobilized.” “While Swifties have long been part of one of the more devout fandoms in existence, the release of the singer’s record-breaking Midnights album last year coupled with the subsequent kick-off of her Eras tour has mobilized Taylor’s fan base like never before.”