Taylor Swift has made another political statement, this time in support of LGBT advocacy.
The pop star made a surprise $113,000 donation – a figure unsurprising to fans familiar with her love for the number 13 – to the Tennessee Equality Project, a Nashville-based group which recently convened more than 100 religious leaders to denounce six anti-LGBT bills, nicknamed the “Slate of Hate”, that are going through the state legislature.
Chris Sanders, the group’s director, posted online on Monday a picture of a handwritten note addressed to him that came with the gift from Swift. The note was written on stationary which had the singer’s name at the top along with “Made in 1989” and “Loves Cats”.
“I’m so inspired by the work you do, specifically in organizing the recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders standing up against the ‘slate of hate’ in our state legislature,” Swift wrote. “I’m so grateful that they’re giving all people a place to worship.”
Bills in the “slate of hate” include a protection of private adoption agencies which discriminate based on religious views and a requirement for the Tennessee attorney general to defend schools which engage in anti-transgender bathroom discrimination.
Sanders told the Guardian gathering faith leaders was an essential step in mobilising against the “unprecedented slate” of bills because “faith language is often tied with political language” in Tennessee. He hoped Swift’s donation would bring more attention to the bills.
“The impact will be that her fans will certainly pay attention what’s going in the state legislature,” Sanders said. “Bills are flying out of the Tennessee house of representatives – we are at a critical point.”
Swift, 29, was criticized by liberals for failing to speak out during the 2016 election, given her influence on young voters. On the day of the election, she posted a picture on Instagram urging fans to vote, though she did not reveal her own choice. “Who is Taylor Swift voting for?” was a top search on Google.
In October, she endorsed two Democratic candidates for Congress, drawing both praise and criticism: Donald Trump said he now liked Swift’s music “about 25% less”.
In a list of “30 things I learned before I turned 30” that Swift contributed to Elle magazine in March, she wrote about “finding my voice in terms of politics”.
“I realized that it actually is my responsibility to use my influence against that disgusting rhetoric,” Swift wrote. “I’m going to do more to help. We have a big race coming up next year.”