Taylor Swift

Ithaca Holdings' acquisition of Big Machine transferred the masters of Swift's first six albums to Scooter Braun. She said she had not been given a fair opportunity to purchase them, launched her 'Taylor's Version' re-recordings and ultimately bought back the masters from Shamrock Capital in May 2025.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Swift's lawyers demanded that student Jack Sweeney stop publishing tracking information about her aircraft, citing risks of harassment and stalking.

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Directly implicated

Synthetic pornographic images falsely depicting Swift went viral on X and other platforms, reigniting the US debate over non-consensual sexual deepfakes.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Three Eras Tour concerts in Vienna were cancelled following the arrest of suspects in a planned attack on the stadium. Some fans criticised Swift's initial silence.

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Documented

The Eras Tour presale collapsed under demand, queues and technical errors, leaving many fans without tickets. The incident became emblematic of criticism of Ticketmaster/Live Nation's market concentration and prompted a Senate hearing.

State of the evidence

Documented

Fans launched an open letter calling on Swift to take a position following controversies involving Matty Healy, while media outlets reported that the two artists were dating.

State of the evidence

Documented

Ana Clara Benevides died after falling ill during the Rio concert; police subsequently attributed her death to heat exhaustion. The extreme heat, access to water and event organisation attracted criticism and investigations.

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Sean Hall and Nathan Butler accused Swift of reproducing phrases from 'Playas Gon' Play' in 'Shake It Off'. After several years of proceedings and the case moving back towards trial, the parties ended the dispute before the hearing.

State of the evidence

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Accused

A viral analysis based on flight tracking data attributed 170 flights to a jet associated with Swift over part of 2022, ranking her among the celebrities with the highest private aircraft CO2 emissions.

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Documented

Evermore Park sued Swift and her companies, alleging that the album 'Evermore' infringed its trademark. Swift's team countered with an action concerning unlicensed use of several songs at the park.

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Accused

Swift publicly criticised a line in the series joking about the number of her relationships, describing it as lazy and deeply sexist. Her fans amplified the campaign online.

State of the evidence

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Personally implicated

After the release of 'Famous', West claimed that Swift had approved the lyrics; Kim Kardashian published excerpts of a phone call, triggering widespread accusations that Swift had lied.

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Directly implicated

The video featured numerous LGBTQ+ celebrities and supported the Equality Act. Some praised this belated public position, while other critics accused Swift of centring herself in a cause that was not her own or turning Pride into a marketing product.

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Directly implicated

In competing civil actions, former DJ David Mueller denied touching Swift and sought damages related to his dismissal. The jury found that he had assaulted her and awarded her the symbolic dollar she requested.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Swift announced that she would not make '1989' available on Apple Music because the platform did not plan to pay rights holders during its three-month free trial.

State of the evidence

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Personally implicated

Swift withdrew her catalogue from Spotify and criticised the business model of free streaming, reigniting debate about artists' remuneration and fans' access to music.

State of the evidence

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Directly implicated

Kanye West went onstage during Swift's acceptance speech and took her microphone to challenge her award in favour of Beyoncé, an episode that became one of the decade's most widely publicised pop feuds.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim