Last night, Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated Miss Americana documentary on Netflix, following its premiere at Sundance. The Lana Wilson-directed documentary was a great place for Taylor to focus her attention while skipping the Grammys, snubbed her this year. As Swifties all over the world have begun devouring the doc, which is by far the most extensive press access Taylor has ever given, one fan, in particular, had a strong reaction: Nikki Glaser.
The feminist comedian first realized she was in the documentary when she heard a clip of her own voice commenting on Taylor’s body. Internalized misogyny is a real thing, and so is eating disorder culture, so when Glaser had the courage to come forward and explain her negative comments on Instagram, it was very admirable. Swift talked about own eating disorder in the documentary, and how powerful words can be when it comes to training our minds about how we should behave.
Here’s the full text of Glaser’s post:
I love @taylorswift. Unfortunately, I am featured in her new documentary as part of a montage of asshats saying mean things about her, which is used to explain why she felt the need to escape from the spotlight for a year. It’s insanely ironic because anyone who knows me knows I’m obnoxiously obsessed with her and her music. I first heard myself in the trailer last week as I watched it alone in bed (as soon as it came out bc I was so excited!) and I was horrified to hear my own voice.
The sound bite was from an interview I did 5 years ago and I say in SUCH a shitty tone, “she’s too skinny; it bothers me… all of her model friends, and it’s just like, cmon!” This quote should be used as an example of “projection” in PSYCH101 textbooks. If you’re familiar with my “work” at all, you know I talk openly about battling some kind of eating disorder for the past 17 years. I was probably “feeling fat” that day and was jealous. Also, I’ve had people say the same sh*t about me being too skinny before and know how terrible it feels to hear that when you’re struggling. And I was only bothered by her model friends because I’d like to be her friend and I’m not a model.
I really have no need to post this other than to apologize to someone who seriously means SO much to me. I only got a couple death threats from die-hard Swift fans, which as one myself, I totally get. So while I’ll consider going to “die in a hole you motherf*cking asshole”, I just hope this somehow gets to her so she knows I’m sorry for any pain I caused her and that I’d love to be her friend someday (when I start modeling) and tell her how much her music has influenced my life and comedy. In fact, her song “The Man” is the inspiration for my new hour of material and I feature the song is multiple iterations during my current tour. I love you Tay, and I can’t wait to watch 99.97% of your new doc #missamericana
For her part, Taylor graciously responded, thanking Glaser for her words:
Wow. I appreciate this so much and one of the major themes about the doc is that we have the ability to change our opinions over time, to grow, to learn about ourselves. I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve struggled with some of the same things I’ve struggled with. Sending a massive hug.
There it is — this doc is already making the world a better place. Even senators are weighing in, so who knows what’s coming next.
