Taylor Swift has revealed her “coping mechanism” for dealing with criticism, admitting she sometimes enjoys mocking her critics back.
The 36-year-old superstar reflected on her career during Monday’s Icon Sessions, presented by the Recording Academy’s Songwriters & Composers Wing, and discussed refusing to let public criticism affect her creativity.
“Sometimes it fuels it. Like sometimes when people are mocking me, it's really fun to mock them back,” Swift, who is currently enjoying her newly wed era with Travis Kelce, said.
“Sometimes I like to just use words that they have to look up in order to talk s**t about,” the Grammy winner quipped.
She added, “But I go through several processes and coping mechanisms that I've gone through over the years. And one of them is saying, ‘You chose this. You chose this every day. You could have opted out of this any day before it got unmanageably big.’”
“And I decided not to because I love it that much. And that's just where it begins and where it ends. And everything that comes with this ultimately is worth it as long as I get to still make music,” the Opalite singer mentioned.
Swift also addressed a common criticism she hears from fans, telling Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. that people often dismiss her comments by saying, “Oh, easy for you to say.”
She said her music is ultimately for fans who connect with it and use it as a source of comfort, much like she once did.
Swift noted, “And I think that if you can actually go through all those checkpoints and realize that putting out music you've made that you love so much is not the path to universal validation... if you're still doing it, then you love it for the right reasons. That's serious.”
During the Icon Sessions, Swift treated fans to a surprise mashup featuring I Knew It, I Knew You, August and All Too Well.
Swift flashed both her wedding band and the massive engagement ring Kelce gave her during the appearance.
