Keller @ Large: Taylor Swift Can't Really Be That Angry
BOSTON (CBS) - When she first became a star on the music scene eleven years ago, there was nothing to dislike about Taylor Swift. She was talented, cute, and genuine.
And since then, Swift has become one of the biggest names in entertainment, winning every award there is, becoming a generous philanthropist, and amassing a fortune of close to $300 million.
Related: Keller: Taylor Swift For President!
She has also proven to be a shrewd businesswoman, battling Apple and other industry giants to fight artist exploitation. But watching her new video, "Look What You Made Me Do," it seems the stresses of the big time have caught up with Taylor Swift.
She has written songs about revenge before, but in this video it feels like an obsession. Swift ranks on Kanye West and other assorted enemies.
The video includes a scene, taken by some to be a reference to the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian's jewelry in a Paris hotel.
Taylor, that isn't very nice.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against revenge, in moderation. Perhaps it's a character flaw, but she's not the only one with, as Swift puts it in the video, "a list of names."
But gee - at 27, isn't she a little young to be so consumed with the kind of payback you might normally expect from someone with more time on earth to become embittered?
Perhaps Taylor Swift is just being a clever marketer here, reinventing her brand based on market research. But if she's really so angry and bitter, there's a familiar moral to that story - money and fame aren't all they're cracked up to be.
Talk back to me via email at keller@wbztv.com, or reach out on Twitter, @kelleratlarge.
