Taylor Swift Slams Trump Administration At VMAs For Ignoring LGBTQ Equality Act Petition [VIDEO]

Taylor Swift demonstrated at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards on Monday night that she is not afraid to standup to the powerful.

The 29-year-old singer, who won the Video of the Year Award for her song “You Need To Calm Down,” took a moment in her acceptance speech to blast President Donald Trump‘s administration for ignoring the Equality Act petition for LGBTQ rights. The video for “You Need To Calm Down,” which features cameos from many gay and trans celebrities like Laverne Cox, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and the cast of Queer Eye, ends with a call to sign the petition.

“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 in her speech. She even glanced at her wrist as if pretending to check a watch for time.

Swift also emphasized she hopes fans follow through their love of her music video and its message with actions to promote equality.

“In this video, several points were made, so you voting for this video means that you want a world, where we’re all treated equally under the law,” the singer added.

As of Tuesday morning at around 11 a.m. EST, the Equality Act petition counted more than 512,000 signatures.

Swift was famously apolitical for years but has more recently called out the Trump administration and prominent Republican congressional candidates for their attacks on LGBTQ Americans and other oppressed minorities. Ahead of last year’s midterm elections, the singer announced via Instagram her endorsement of Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen in a Senate race in her native Tennessee, while slamming Bredesen’s opponent, then-GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn, for her poor record on women’s issues and gay rights.

“These are not MY Tennessee values,” Swift wrote about Blackburn, who ultimately won the Senate race.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, the singer also said she believes Trump is “gaslighting the American public into being like, ‘if you hate the president, you hate America.” Swift added she strongly believes Trump “thinks this is an autocracy.”

Swift also recently announced she would re-record many of her previous albums to secure ownership rights to them following a dispute with music producer Scooter Braun. 

Swift wasn’t the only artist at this year’s VMAs to make a political statement. GLOW actress Alison Brie and rapper French Montana voiced their support for immigration while presenting the award for Best Latin Music Video.

“I feel like we are the people that make this country, and I feel like I want to be the voice,” said Montana, who was born in Morocco.

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