Taylor Swift Launches Trailer for Netflix Doc: ‘I Need to Be on the Right Side of History’

Pop megastar Taylor Swift says in her new Netflix documentary Miss Americana that she started speaking out about politics because she needed “to be on the right side of history,” according to footage seen in a new trailer for the movie.

Miss Americana, which Netflix is set to release Jan. 31, follows Swift during a pivotal moment in her career when she seeks more independence and personal freedom from the strictures of the music industry. Part of her rebellion included speaking out in support of Democratic politicians.

“Throughout my whole career, label executives would just say, ‘A nice girl doesn’t force her opinions on people. A nice girl smiles and waves and says thank you,'” Swift says in the trailer.

“I became the person everyone wanted me to be.”

But that all changed when Swift started to become politically active, leveraging her enormous social media following among young fans to promote Democratic politicians and candidates.

“I want to do this. I need to be on the right side of history,” the singer explains in the movie.

“It feels fucking awesome,” she added. “I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore. And it was my own doing.”

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⬆️These two Tennessee women⬆️ voted for the candidate who has proven himself to be reasonable and trustworthy. We want leadership, not fear-based extremism. Early voting goes til Thursday and Election Day is November 6. Please don’t sit this one out.

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 30, 2018 at 10:37am PDT

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I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

Taylor Swift says in the trailer that changing her mindset was challenging but ultimately rewarding.

“I had to deconstruct an entire belief system, toss it out, and reject it,” she says. “It woke me up from constantly feeling like I was fighting for people’s respect. It was happiness without anyone else’s input.”

The singer recently told Variety that she hopes her music will help “stoke some fires politically.”

Her new song “Only the Young,” which is featured in the documentary, was written in the aftermath of the 2018 midterm elections, which saw Republicans take key seats in the singer’s home state of Tennessee.

“I did think that it would be better for it to come out at a time that it could maybe hopefully stoke some fires politically and maybe engage younger people to form their own views, break away from the pack, and not feel like they need to vote exactly the same way that people in their town are voting,” she told the magazine.

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