OP is right. Taylor is, if not in complete control, mostly in control of her public image. It's not her handlers pushing it on her- she's very image conscious.

She's willing to lie, misrepresent, and throw others under the bus to elevate her own image. Honestly, it kinda makes me like her more...

OP, like you I think this is a very calculated absence. Even her absence is conspicuous.

She is a very smart business woman and seems to also relish her private life. I think she shares enough to keep people engaged but she clearly runs her own show (think how on her own she refused to join apple music and apple was one who blinked.) I think in regards to the Katy Perry idea - since that album was largely panned no matter that it sold well (I know only because I read this waiting for oil change - not a super fan really!!!) I think she was smart to remain out of sight for the month after its release so it didn't 'get' anything from her. Apparently she has a new BF and she's what - 28 now? Maybe she's looking to have a more settled life? Despite those who find it easy to dismiss her Taylor Swift has consistently managed her career, her life, her business. Makes millions even when she's not actively working. She writes most of her own songs, collaborates across genres and does a lot of targeted charity work and fan outreach. Pretty dang amazing for someone who isn't 30

Anonymous wrote:I haven't missed her. What made her scale back? Was it when Kimye called her out on her lies?
Anyway this should prove it's not hard for celebrities to avoid the paparazzi if they really don't want to be seen.

I think this was it. She was embarrassed and took a step back. I also think she got a little too into the "games" bc she's not particularly gorgeous and couldn't hop up her social media with sexy pictures of herself so she had to add a little story here and there.

Please keep in hiding- TS is annoying, overrated and self-absorbed. The less space wasted on her the better.

Maybe she has a real boyfriend? Maybe she is working on a new album and doesn't have the time? Who cares?

I haven't missed her. What made her scale back? Was it when Kimye called her out on her lies?
Anyway this should prove it's not hard for celebrities to avoid the paparazzi if they really don't want to be seen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are giving her too much credit - she is a brand and has a team making a lot of decisions for her. Of course she does have to LISTEN to them true but I doubt she is master-minding all this herself.

She was getting over-exposed. I do think she is talented, but at some point all the boy nonsense etc. was getting old and stale. They made the right move by telling her to chill. Otherwise it's just not interesting if people get too used to it.

I respectfully disagree to this. I think it's all her. I listened to a interview she did a few years ago and it appears to me that she was groomed with the mentality of making these types of decisions since the beginning of her career. Country music was a means to an end, she always had goals of being a Janet Jackson type star. Janet is the master of going dark and then resurfacing when it best benefits her career.

I think you are not taking into account the amount of pressure and noise she gets from sponsors etc. They have a LOT of say. She is too big to be making her own decisions. Even a CEO of a huge company has to listen to the board. Though maybe she does have a natural instinct about the business that guides some of this, who knows.

Anonymous wrote:I think you are giving her too much credit - she is a brand and has a team making a lot of decisions for her. Of course she does have to LISTEN to them true but I doubt she is master-minding all this herself.

She was getting over-exposed. I do think she is talented, but at some point all the boy nonsense etc. was getting old and stale. They made the right move by telling her to chill. Otherwise it's just not interesting if people get too used to it.

I respectfully disagree to this. I think it's all her. I listened to a interview she did a few years ago and it appears to me that she was groomed with the mentality of making these types of decisions since the beginning of her career. Country music was a means to an end, she always had goals of being a Janet Jackson type star. Janet is the master of going dark and then resurfacing when it best benefits her career.

couldn't care less

I didn't even know she was in hiding until the media started commenting the other day.

I think you are giving her too much credit - she is a brand and has a team making a lot of decisions for her. Of course she does have to LISTEN to them true but I doubt she is master-minding all this herself.

She was getting over-exposed. I do think she is talented, but at some point all the boy nonsense etc. was getting old and stale. They made the right move by telling her to chill. Otherwise it's just not interesting if people get too used to it.

I didn't realize she'd stepped out of the public eye, so I'd have to go do some more reading to fully understand the significance, but I agree with PP that she is a master of her image.

My first thought, without more information, is that she is doing it to throw water on Katy Perry's "fire" and the release of the song that was dissing Taylor Swift. (I only know about that from when it was on SNL - stuck in my damn head for a week.) It's hard to have a feud when one side won't engage and makes themselves as uninteresting as possible.

She's not interesting, which is why she has to resort to stunts like this to cultivate interest. And I don't mean that in a bad way- she's probably going to do just fine when she ages out of this career unlike a Britney or a Madonna who refuse to let go of their sex symbol years.

She's a pretty bland, probably mostly normal person who happens to be a celebrity. Her stunts like this and the Kanye/Kim thing and all the boyfriends are exactly that- stunts. She's well aware it's all make believe and does it specifically to serve as spotlight so her real life is pretty well obfuscated.

I think this is how it should be. Similar to George Clooney. I WANT to know almost nothing about famous people's personal lives. I WANT to assume they live deep in the Hollywood Hills or some Fort Knox-like doorman highrise in Manhattan and nobody ever sees them except at movie premiers or award shows. I WANT it to be super exciting to hear that Michelle Williams takes Uber and so do I, or that I'm eating at a restaurant that Andy Cohen ate at last week.

Less would be more for me.

If I were famous I wouldn't go that far (because my ideal is from the olden days and before social media) but I would definitely post very little on social media and not agree that "all publicity is good publicity."

She's been a bit of a hermit for the past several months - very little online presence or public appearances. In truth, her absence is just as curated as her formerly very public presence was - the fact that she has been able to basically disappear, from the most part means that this was always a possibility for her and that all of her appearances over the past several years have been very, very planned. I guess I'm somewhat fascinated by how fastidious and calculated she is about her image - it's quite brilliant, and a huge part of her success. And of this at such a young age.

I was never a fan until my DD became obsessed with her latest pop album, and now I get her appeal. But I'm more interested in her public persona and how she has so masterfully managed it - from her very curated appearances with her famous friends to her romantic relationships (there are rumors that she was the "beard" for several of them, but who knows).

Am I the only one that finds her very interesting, beyond her music?