Taylor Swift criticizes Netflix’s 'deeply sexist joke' about her dating history

Pop icon Taylor Swift has challenged Netflix for making a sexist joke about her love life in the new Netflix series Ginny & Georgia. 

The Netflix series, Ginny & Georgia, launched on Netflix on February 24, 2021. The series primarily follows a 30-year old mother, Georgia (Brianne Howey), and 15-year-old Ginny (Antonia Gentry), and their adjustment to a new life in a New England town.

The series was met with uproar by fans, and within a few days of its launch and soon the hashtag #RespectTaylor was trending on social media. This reaction was because of a sexist joke made in the series. In the show, one character said the line, “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.”

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Taylor took to social media to criticize Netflix for this insensitive joke. Taylor said, “Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called, and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard-working women by defining this horse shit as FuNnY. Also, Netflix after Miss Americana, this outfit doesn’t look cute on you. Happy Women’s History Month, I guess.”

Taylor's response has gained over 650 thousand likes, and fans have been eager to praise Taylor for standing up for herself. One fan commented, “Well, Netflix, you can't pull off misogynist and sexist jokes in this era. People now are mature enough to understand the difference. You better get on your knees this time.#respecttaylor.”

Another fan said in a tweet with over nine thousand likes, “isn't it ironic how Ginny and Georgia is a show that supposedly promotes feminism yet still makes outdated slut-shaming jokes?? RESPECT TAYLOR SWIFT'”.

Other commenters were less supportive of Taylor and attempted to shame the singer for sticking up for herself. However many of these Twitter users were drowned out by the various tweets that labeled the joke "misogynistic" and reinforcing a "double standard" in society. 

In Taylor Swift’s Miss Americana documentary, which was made with Netflix and aired in 2020, Taylor made a point of speaking about how the media’s portrayal of her love life has been damaging for her mental health. It's therefore particularly surprising that Netflix would also produce a show that felt comfortable making a "misogynistic" joke about Taylor Swift.