Some people say she’s a goddess of the alt-right. The world’s most famous serial dater, now settled into a long-term relationship with the guy from The Favourite. She’s been feminism’s worst nightmare, and an advocate for victims of sexual assault. She was a precocious teenager, and the ultimate embodiment of white privilege. And, outside the legions of fans who eat up everything she puts out, no take on her ever stays solid for long. For more than a decade, a 31-year-old woman from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, has found herself at the center of our national conversations about race, gender, celebrity, victimhood, and even the intricacies of recording contract law. One of them is a massive, multimillion-dollar enterprise filled with violence and betrayal, and the other aired on HBO. In all my years in the business, there have been two subjects that could boost your page views like nothing else: Game of Thrones and Taylor Swift.
