Taylor Swift defends singer Hayley Kiyoko for speaking out against homophobia in the music industry

Taylor Swift has defended singer Hayley Kiyoko for criticising homophobia in the music industry. 

The 26-year-old ‘Girls Like Girls’ singer, made headlines this week after an interview with Refinery29 in which she called out music executives for criticising her for featuring gay love interests in her music.

During the interview, Kiyoko, who is openly gay, said: “I’ve had several music industry execs say ‘You’re going another music video about girls?’ I literally looked at them and was like, um, yeah… Taylor Swift sings about men in every single song and video, and no one complains that she’s unoriginal.” 

She added: “I’m not over-sexualising my music. I make out with women because I love women, not because I’m trying to be sexy. That’s not to turn heads – that’s my life.” 

According to the Metro, Taylor Swift fans viewed the comments as a criticism of the singer and called on her to hit back at Kiyoko. Swift, however, defended her. 

Writing on Tumblr, the ‘Delicate’ singer said: “We should applaud artists who are brave enough to tell their honest romantic narrative through their art, and the fact is that I’ve never encountered homophobia and she has.

“It’s right to call out anyone who has double standards about gay vs straight love interests.” 

Swift then shared a post highlighting how she had previously called out sexism in the industry after she was criticised for writing about her relationships but male artists such as Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran weren’t.