Jack Whitemay have battled a "Seven Nation Army," but does he know the power of overprotective Swifties?
The Detroit rocker seemingly took a shot atTaylor Swiftwhile talking about the nuances of his songwriting in a new interview withThe Guardian. Asked if his songs are "entirely autobiographical," White replied, "not too much," and explained why.
"Now, it's become very popular in the Taylor Swift way of pop singers writing about all of their publicly aired break-ups, which I don't find interesting at all," admitted White, who has fronted several bands including the White Stripes, Raconteurs, and Dead Weather.
"I think it's a little bit boring for me to write about myself," he continued. "Even if I've had a really interesting day, I feel like I've already lived that, I don't need to go through it every time I sing this song. If it's something really painful, I'm not going to put this important, painful thing that I went through out there for some idiot on the internet to stomp all over."
Swift has yet to publicly acknowledge White's remark — but she has spoken up to defend herself in the past. Read about the memorable moment with Blur's Damon Albarn below, as well as the 12 other rockers who have discussed the Grammy winner's unique artistry.
Damon Albarn
In 2022, the British singer was asked his thoughts on modern chart-toppers by theLos Angeles Times. As for Swift, he declared, "She doesn't write her own songs."LAT's tweet with Albarn's quote quickly went viral, making its way to the pop star herself.
"I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this," Swiftreplied on X. "I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don't have to like my songs but it's really f---ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW."
Albarn swiftlyapologized"unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting."
Liam Gallagher
Another Brit rocker also came to Swift's defense against Albarn.
"Did he not get ran out of f-- -ing town by the Swifters?" the Oasis singer joked toNME. "I think [Taylor's] f---ing cool, man. She does write her songs and I'm sure she's co-wrote with people."
Courtney Love
The Hole frontwoman has never been one to keep her thoughts to herself. In a 2024 interview with theEvening Standard, she was critiquing female pop stars, including Beyonce and Lana Del Rey, when she decided, "Taylor is not important. She might be a safe space for girls, and she's probably the Madonna of now, but she's not interesting as an artist."
Billy Corgan
Love's very ownCelebrity Skinco-writer, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, has a differing opinion. In the wake of complaints over the length of Swift's 31-songThe Tortured Poet's Department: The Anthology, Corgan questioned the criticism.
"Taylor Swift is one of the most gifted pop artists of all time," Corgan told theIrish Times. "How is it a bad thing that she's releasing more music? I can't follow that... You can go on Spotify and just skip it."
Stevie Nicks
The Fleetwood Mac singer has long admired Swift, dating back to 2010 when Nickspraisedher songwriting and compared it to icons Elton John and Neil Diamond. Thirteen years later, when her bandmate Christine McVie passed away, it was a track from Swift's discography that helped Nicks through her grief.
"Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is, writing a song called 'You're on Your Own, Kid,'" the "Landslide" singersaidduring a concert in Atlanta in May 2023. "That is the sadness of how I feel."
Paul McCartney
The Beatles singer-songwriter has such an admiration for Swift, she inspired him to write "Who Cares," a 2018 song based on her "sisterly" relationship with Swifties.
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The lyrics, McCartney told theBBC, are meant to encourage people to ignore their bullies: "And I was imagining talking to one of these young fans and saying, 'Have you ever been bullied? Do you get bullied?' Then I say, 'Who cares about the idiots? Who cares about all this? Who cares about you? Well… I do."
McCartney's fellow Beatle echoed a similar sentiment in an interview withEsquire. Speaking on the state of music, the drummer mused, "There's a lot of good bands out there, but nobody's doing anything... Taylor Swift is the only one who's doing well. She likes to play by herself. I love her."
Neil Tennant
The Pet Shop Boys frontman paid Swift a backhanded compliment in 2024 while speaking on a music panel forThe Guardian.
"Taylor Swift sort of fascinates me as a phenomenon because she's so popular, and I sort of quite like the whole thing," began Tennant. "But then when I listen to the records… for a phenomenon as big, where are the famous songs? What's Taylor Swift's 'Billie Jean'?"
Paul Stanley
The Eras Tour was attended by an estimated 10 million people — including KISS legend Paul Stanley, who brought his whole family to see Swift at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in August 2023. "PHENOMENAL SHOW BY A PHENOMENAL ARTIST," Stanleytweeted, along with a photo of himself (sans KISS makeup) rocking an Eras Tour T-shirt.
Billie Eilish
Don't expect the "Birds of a Feather" singer to perform a three-hour concert like the Eras Tour any time soon.
"That's literally psychotic," Eilish candidly told fans during a2024 Stationheaddiscussion. "Nobody wants that. You guys don't want that. I don't want that. I don't even want that as a fan. My favorite artist in the world, I'm not trying to hear them for three hours."
Eddie Vedder
The Pearl Jam singer was introduced to Taylor's music by his Swiftie daughters Olivia, 21, and Harper, 17, and he's especially in awe of her 12-album discography.
"She's incredibly prolific," Vedder toldBill Simmonsin 2024. "So she's able to just keep putting out music and putting out music."
The rocker's favorite song, he teased, is a deep cut "that I just think is incredible." He wouldn't reveal which one, but months later, Vedder and Harper performed acoverof "Best Day" at the Ohana Fest.
Bruce Springsteen
One of Swift's early A-list supporters was "The Boss," who noticed that fans were able to connect to her music because "she's speaking to a large part of them very personally," Springsteen toldVarietyin 2017. "As far as craft, [her songs are] really, really well-built and well-made; they're very, very sturdy, and the records are too."
"Dear John," Swift's 2010 track offSpeak Nowwas a big hit with fans — but not with the ex who inspired it.
Mayer, who dated the 19-year-old pop star for three months, toldRolling Stonehe was "humiliated" by the lyrics, which hinted at "dark twisted games" he played during their brief relationship.
"It made me feel terrible," Mayer confessed. "Because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do."
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