Taylor Swift is doubling down on her pro-LGBT activity during Pride month: Less than 24 hours after she dropped her new single "You Need to Calm Down," which includes shout-outs to GLAAD and the LGBT community, she made a surprise appearance before about 100 people at the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village, the site of the pivotal 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement.
After a rousing pair of songs from Sara Bareilles -- including a version of "Brave" that had virtually all of the 100-odd lucky people inside singing along -- Swift was greeted by the evening's headliner, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
She thanked him for inviting her and said, "I heard this is Jesse's favourite song to do at karaoke -- which is an incredible rumour, I really want to believe it's true," she laughed and then turned to him. "So if there's anything you feel like you want to jump in on, a part that you're really good at, just sing, dance and be yourself -- this is a really safe space!"
Earlier this month, Swift urged her fans to contact senators in her home state of Tennessee and elsewhere to demand passage of the Equality Act. Later that night, she made a similar appeal at an iHeart Wango Tango concert in Los Angeles, appearing in full rainbow garb, leaving fans to wonder whether the fringe of many colours might make its way into the next video.
Australian Associated Press
