"Not the British emo saving America’s sweetheart" - Internet reacts as Yungblud defends Taylor Swift after Bill Maher says he doesn't get her music

English singer Yungblud recently defended Taylor Swift during his appearance on comedian Bill Maher's Club Random Podcast after Maher said he didn't "get" her music. For the uninformed, Swift recently released her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3, 2025. She created the 12-track album with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback while on "The Eras Tour."

Yungblud recently appeared on Bill Maher's podcast, which aired on October 6, 2025. The duo ended up talking about Taylor Swift, with Maher saying that she never got the Style singer's music and never will.

Yungblud, whose real name is Dominic Richard Harrison, quickly rose to Swift's defense, saying that he resonated with her earlier albums, such as Fearless and Red, as his sisters used to play the records in their mom's car while growing up.

“You know what, it's that first album. and Red! My sisters loved that! So anytime that comes on, that takes me back to a time when I was in my mom’s car with my sisters, and I actually f**king love it. Can I tell you one thing? Lads in the pub are like 'mememememe, Taylor Swift I don't f**k with it.' I like Taylor Swift,” he said.

According to Parade Magazine, Maher also called Swift's recent tour "endless," to which Yungblud acknowledged that not everyone has the same taste in music and that it was okay to admit when an artist's work did not suit your style.

This is not the first time Yungblud has shown his appreciation for Swift's music. In 2020, he covered Swift's Cardigan from the album Folklore for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, mashing it up with Avril Lavigne's 2002 hit I'm with You. According to People Magazine, Swift praised the cover at the time, writing on X that Yungblud's performance "took [her] breath away."

Bill Maher and Yungblud's conversation about Taylor Swift was met with varied reactions from netizens on X, with one user writing:

"Not the british emo saving america’s sweetheart."

Several netizens praised Yungblud for defending Taylor Swift against Maher, with one user calling him an "unexpected knight in shining armor."

Others called out Bill Maher for his critical views about Taylor Swift, dubbing him a "grumpy old out-of-touch man."

Taylor Swift responded to The Life of a Showgirl criticism

Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl received mixed reviews following its release on October 3. While the album is a commercial hit, selling 3 million copies over the past few days, its critical success has been varied. While Rolling Stone and Variety gave the album a perfect rating, publications like Pitchfork and The Guardian seemed less favorable.

The Guardian gave it a 2/5 star rating, calling the album a "dull razzle-dazzle from a star who seems frazzled." Meanwhile, Pitchfork gave the album a 5.9/10 rating, writing "Taylor Swift’s never been bigger—and her music’s never been less compelling."

According to Billboard, the album has been criticized for its simplistic lyrics in songs such as Eldest Daughter or Cancelled! During her recent appearance on Zane Lowe's Apple Music 1 interview, which aired on October 7, 2025, Taylor Swift said the inclusion of modern slang in her new songs was intentional, adding that the first verse on Eldest Daughter was meant to be "satirical."

"Sometimes I'll use specific vernacular to be satirical. Like the entire first verse of Eldest Daughter is somebody trying to figure out how to say things that they've read on the internet, whether it be like, 'apathy is hot' or 'memes and trolling." And how do I keep up with how we're supposed to talk in order to describe how much we don't care when really we all care about something, right?" she said.

Swift continued:

"So then you go into the prechorus and I go more into my own voice of 'I have been afflicted by a terminal uniqueness, I've been dying just from trying to seem cool.' That's the tell. So that's the kind of flip of every way in which I was speaking in this entire first verse was me trying to assimilate to the way culture tells us to be."

Elsewhere in the interview, she spoke about the "rule of show business," suggesting that any talk about her album helped boost her project. She further added that she had no intention of being the "art police," saying that people were allowed to have their "subjective opinions on art."

“The rule of show business is if it’s the first week of my album release, and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping. And art—I have a lot of respect for people’s subjective opinions on art. I’m not the art police. It’s like everybody is allowed to feel exactly how they want. And what our goal is as entertainers is to be a mirror,” she added.

On a personal front, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement on August 26, 2025. The NFL star was involved in Swift's album rollout, with the singer unveiling her new project on his podcast New Heights on August 13.

About the author

With a strong love for the English language cultivated from a childhood filled with reading, Juhi aims to take her readers on a literary journey with every word she writes.

When she's not busy putting her pen to paper, Juhi can be found indulging in her hobbies, such as embroidering and crocheting, while binge-watching TV shows.

Know More

Edited by Juhi Marzia