John Legend said he’s “always respected” Taylor Swift for being “willing to take that risk” in openly sharing her political views.
The EGOT winner, who has been vocal about his support for Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election, recently told The Independent that he understands it’s more difficult for the pop superstar to speak out given her fanbase.
“It was always really difficult for Taylor to speak out for liberal and progressive candidates coming from the country music world, where the fanbase is a lot more conservative,” Legend said. “It was riskier for her to start speaking out about politics than it is for me. I always respected the fact that she was willing to take that risk.”
The singer-songwriter added that he thought Swift shared the “perfect statement” when she announced on social media earlier this week that she was endorsing Harris. “I’m voting for [Kamala Harris] because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” the “Fortnight” artist wrote in part. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
While Swift was known to stay away from politics earlier in her career, she ultimately 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 more intelligent, she understands the problems of the American people better and has better solutions,” compared to Republican nominee Donald Trump, who he described as “utterly toxic, unqualified and was manifestly terrible at his job.”
Elsewhere in his interview with The Independent, the “All of Me” singer opened up about the double standards women face in society, including his wife Chrissy Teigen, who is constantly scrutinized for her appearance, outfits and parenting style.
“I honestly just hope we all get better with how we treat women,” he said. “It’s abundantly clear to me, from my observation of what happens 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 lead a company — they get criticisms that just wouldn’t be thrown at a man in a similar circumstance.”