Jimi Westbrook Stands Up for Taylor Swift Following Women’s March Tweet Backlash
Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook is defending Taylor Swift amid backlash stemming from a tweet the country-turned-pop superstar sent in support of the Women's March on Saturday (Jan. 21).
As PopCrush explains, Swift is facing criticism for tweeting her support for the rallies and protests that took place across the United States and around the world on Saturday, but not personally attending one. (A number of celebrities -- Katy Perry, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and more -- participated at various events.) The singer has previously been accused of believing in “white feminism,” not supporting feminist causes as much she could be and being exclusionary in her choice of friends.
"None of us can understand what it's like to live under that kind of scrutiny, and all I can say is, she's an unbelievably talented woman with an extremely kind and generous heart, and if she could have been there, I'm sure she would have," Westbrook tells the Australian Associated Press. "She's always loving and accepting of everyone and does her best to show that love for everyone."
Westbrook's support for Swift didn't come out of nowhere: Little Big Town and Swift are friendly with each other; in fact, Swift wrote the country quartet's newest single, "Better Man."
Country Artists Speak Out About the #WomensMarch
The #WomensMarch hashtag trended on social media on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 22) as events took place in Washington, DC, and a number of other cities in the U.S.; still more protested in Mexico, England, Spain and more. Reuters estimates that nearly 5 million people took part overall, including 750,000 in Los Angeles, 125,000-200,000 in Chicago and somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 in New York City. Country artists including Westbrook's bandmate Karen Fairchild, Kacey Musgraves, the Brothers Osborne and more offered words of support and shared photos from Women’s March events.
Wynonna Judd, meanwhile, wound up using Twitter to share her thoughts after her sister, actress Ashley Judd, made headlines by reading a poem written by 19-year-old Franklin, Tenn., resident Nina Donovan.
"It's my understanding that I'm an artist and singing is my gift," Judd said. "I have supported my country for 52 years, I've sung for 5 presidents, & I will support my country until I take my last breath."
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