John Legend said he has “always respected” Taylor Swift for being “willing to take that risk” by openly sharing her political views.
The EGOT winner, who has openly expressed his support for Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election, recently said The Independent who understands that it is more difficult for the pop superstar to speak out, given her larger fan base.
“It's always been really hard for Taylor to speak out for liberal, progressive candidates from the country music world, where the fan base is much more conservative,” Legend said. “It was riskier for her to start talking about politics than it is for me. I've always respected the fact that she was willing to take that risk.”
The singer-songwriter added that he thought Swift had made the “perfect statement” when she announced on social media earlier this week that she would be supporting Harris. “I'm voting for [Kamala Harris] because she fights for rights and causes that I believe need a warrior to champion,” the “Fortnight” artist wrote in part. “I think she’s a gifted and steady leader and I think we could accomplish so much more in this country if we were led by calm and not chaos.”
Although Swift was known to stay away from politics early in her career, she finally spoke out in 2018, endorsing Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper in the U.S. midterm elections in her home state of Tennessee. She later endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020.
As for Legend, he believes Harris “should be our next president” because “she's more presidential, she's smarter, she understands the problems of the American people better and she has better solutions” than Republican candidate Donald Trump, whom he described as “totally toxic, unqualified and demonstrably bad at her job.”
In another part of his interview with The IndependentThe “All of Me” singer spoke out about the double standards women face in society, including his wife Chrissy Teigen, who is constantly scrutinized for her appearance, clothes and parenting style.
“I honestly just hope that we all get better at how we treat women,” she said. “It's been very clear to me, from watching what's happening with Chrissy, that it's harder to be a woman in public than it is to be a man. You see women running for office or women trying to run a company; they get criticism that a man wouldn't get in a similar situation.”