what we miss when we talk about Matty Healy
"Like context in a modern debate, I just took it out"
In early May, The Sun revealed that Taylor Swift and The 1975 frontman Matty Healy were dating. One source confirmed the relationship, saying, “She and Matty are madly in love. It’s super-early days, but it feels right.” Throughout the rest of the month, endless articles, Tweets, and TikToks discussed the new couple. Swifties were split between being outraged and welcoming their new pseudo-stepdad. Fans even launched a campaign (#SpeakUpNow) asking Swift to address her relationship and give “more than a simple apology” for dating Healy.
But just as quickly as it began, it ended. On June 5th, TMZ announced that the two had broken up.
For a situationship that lasted a little over a month, the Matty Healy x Taylor Swift discourse is rich for analysis. Fans characterized it as Taylor moving on from her “Joe Alwyn era” to her “Matty Healy era”, as though the most interesting thing about her is the man she’s currently associated with.
Most notably, it brought attention to the supposed gap between Swift’s public image and private actions when it comes to social issues. Swifties who had previously been unfamiliar with Healy saw his public persona as repugnant and diametrically opposed to the pop star’s politics.
The outrage came as a result of Healy’s actions and statements being taken out of context (both willfully or unintentionally) by media outlets and Swift’s fans. I won’t individually address every accusation of racism, misogyny, and antisemitism but @Lilorise on Twitter posted a comprehensive thread that debunks most of them. I am not defending Healy’s every action or how he communicates his political beliefs; however, he presents an interesting contrast to Taylor Swift and her approach to activism.
Among the criticisms was Healy’s podcast appearance on “The Adam Friedland Show”. The podcast is a part of the Dirtbag Left, a term originated by Amber A’Lee Frost (co-host of fellow Dirtbag Left podcast “Chapo Trap House”). The Dirtbag Left is a sect of leftist politics that eschews civility in favor of vulgarity. Frost coined this concept in her essay for Current Affairs, in which she argues that vulgarity has long been used as a tool for progress. Frost cites the French Revolution, the Vietnam War, and protests against police brutality as examples in which vulgarity has held power. She writes, “If we do not embrace the profane now and again, we will find ourselves handicapped by our own civility.”
I’m unsure whether Healy would identify as part of the Dirtbag Left, but elements of his performances and public persona seem to fall into the category. His current tour is part performance art and concert; he kisses fans, eats raw meat, and does shirtless push-ups in front of a TV in a send-up of modern masculinity. He once risked getting banned from Dubai when he raised a pride flag and kissed a male fan during a concert in response to the country’s anti-gay laws.
While Healy uses shocking tactics to communicate a point, he’s also used his platform in less-shocking ways to support progressive issues. His band is currently working with REVERB, a nonprofit that reduces concert and tour carbon footprints, and the organization claims that they’ve avoided 36,000+ single-use plastic bottles during The 1975’s most recent tour. Greta Thunberg once recorded a speech on climate change for the band’s song, “The 1975”. Healy has used award speeches and concerts to criticize sexism in the music industry, anti-abortion laws, and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Swift’s most political song remains “You Need To Calm Down”, with “The Man” (about misogyny in the music industry) being a close second. For the most part, “You Need To Calm Down” is about ignoring the haters. There’s passing mention of LGBTQ+ rights with the lyrics “Why are you mad?/ When you could be GLAAD?” and “shade never made anybody less gay”. The music video supplemented this, garnering praise for its rainbow palette, star-studded LGBTQ+ cast, and release during Pride Month in 2019. At the end of the video, Swift instructs fans to sign a petition in favor of passing the Equality Act in the Senate.
Similarly to The 1975 and Healy, Swift has donated to and performed for benefits supporting different progressive issues. She’s given money to disaster relief, the arts, medical research, COVID-19 relief, LGBTQ+ rights, and sexual assault awareness and prevention. However, her donations don’t seem as generous when you realize that many of them represent less than 0.1% of her $740 million estimated net worth. Though Swift condemned the Roe v. Wade reversal in a Tweet, she chose not to speak out during her shows in Texas and Tennessee, two states with some of the most restrictive abortion policies in the country. For her credit, she did share a message in support of the LGBTQ+ community during a recent June show in Chicago and featured a trans man as her love interest in a recent music video.
In contrast to Healy, Taylor Swift approaches social issues in the same way that corporations approach Pride Month. While I’m sure she supports these causes, I doubt she’d be as vocal if it weren’t profitable.
Swift sometimes has an overtly negative impact on these social causes. Chiara Giovanni explores this for Teen Vogue, citing her extensive private jet use which “lands her within the tiny group of people who collectively cause over 50% of the global aviation emissions”. Giovanni criticizes fans’ fixation on the relationship, stating, “the scale of this controversy far outstrips that surrounding Swift’s carbon emissions record, though the latter’s negative impact on the world around us is far easier to quantify. Why is being seen in public with Matty Healy, of all things, the line in the sand that prompts my friends’ outrage and sparks a call for boycotts?”.
It might be obvious by now that I prefer Healy’s activism over Swift’s, however, both methods have their merits. Regardless, it’s pointless to pit two celebrities against each other. The controversy surrounding their relationship evokes a bigger problem within the left. When we argue over language with people who ultimately agree with us, we miss the stories that matter.
In May, at the height of the Swift-Healy frothing, Texas and Florida passed new laws banning gender-affirming care for kids under 18. The draconian legislation has prompted trans Floridians and Texans to leave their home states. And these only represent a fraction of anti-LGBTQ laws currently being considered in state legislatures.
You would be forgiven if you’ve heard of the Matty Healy controversy but not the anti-trans legislation. In May, endless mainstream publications like NBC News, The Washington Post, and the BBC covered the relationship and fans' responses. In comparison, markedly fewer covered the new Texas and Florida laws. It’s possible to care about both topics; unfortunately, discourse seems to favor the far less consequential one. While we work ourselves into a frenzy debating the best way to advocate, the vulnerable are left to fend for themselves.