Writer said Taylor Swift isn’t a ‘good role model.’ See this tennis legend’s response
Martina Navratilova isn’t letting this one slide.
On Sunday, the tennis legend shared on X a recent op-ed piece in Newsweek entitled “Taylor Swift is Not a Good Role Model.”
The article had been first tweeted by Indian author Kiran Mandral who said the venerated magazine should be “ashamed” for publishing the “vomit worthy” content.
“At 34, Swift remains unmarried and childless, a fact that some might argue is irrelevant to her status as a role model,” wrote reporter John Mac Ghlionn, who does acknowledge the billionaire singer’s talent and business sense. “We must ask if her personal life choices are ones we want our sisters and daughters to emulate. This might sound like pearl-clutching preaching, but it’s a concern rooted in sound reasoning.”
Navratilova – who is raising two step daughters with her wife of 10 years, “Real Housewives of Miami” star Julia Lemigova – called the story “a massive pile of misogynistic bull.”
Ghlionn also took issue with the pop star’s many past boyfriends as her dating history “raises questions about stability, commitment, and even love itself.”
“Should we encourage young girls to see the ‘Swift standard’ as the norm, something to aspire to?” he asks. “Or should we be promoting something a little more, shall we say, wholesome?”
Irate commenters opened the floodgates underneath Navratilova’s post.
“The ultimate irony is her boyfriend Travis [Kelce] is the same age, unmarried & childless.”
“This would NEVER be written about a 30-something male celebrity who was unmarried and childless.”
“Someone tell the author of that article the 1970s are on the phone & want him back.”
The much criticized essayist, whose work has appeared in the U.S. Sun, New York Post and conservative news site Epoch Times, apparently has received a ton of backlash since the story went viral; his X account @ghlionn is currently deactivated.
Newsweek isn’t feeling much love, either.
“Really? Did you really publish this disgusting piece?” wrote one of many critics of the outlet. “Women have come a long way from the days of being married, barefoot, & pregnant in the kitchen & we won’t go back. This take is trash.”
