Taylor Swift in hot water with ACLU.... after her attorneys threaten to sue blogger for defamation for suggesting singer is a darling of the alt-right
- Meghan Herning of website PopFront wrote an opinion piece critiquing the pop star's song lyrics and music videos
- She accused the Grammy winner of 'scare tactics' after her attorneys sent a letter demanding she retract the article
- The ACLU of Northern California accused Swift of trying to stifle free speech saying opinions are protected under the First Amendment
The ACLU of Northern California has come to the defense of a blogger who wrote an article critiquing the embrace of Taylor Swift and her song lyrics by white supremacists.
The civil liberties organization states Swift and her attorneys have tried to stifle free speech after demanding Meghan Herning retract her post on the website PopFront titled 'Swiftly to the alt-right: Taylor subtly gets the lower case kkk in formation'.
'This is a completely unsupported attempt to suppress constitutionally protected speech,' said ACLU of Northern California attorney Michael Risher in a statement released Monday.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Swift's representatives for comment.
Hot water: The ACLU of Northern California accused Taylor Swift Monday of attempting to stifle free speech after her attorneys threatened a blogger with a lawsuit over a post
According to the ACLU, Herning received a letter on October 25 demanding she remove her post from all media and threatening a lawsuit for defamation.
Herning, in a quote attributed to her in the ACLU press release, accused the multiple Grammy winner of using 'scare tactics' to intimidate her.
'The press should not be bullied by high-paid lawyers or frightened into submission by legal jargon,' Herning said. 'These scare tactics may have worked for Taylor in the past, but I am not backing down.'
Opinion: Meghan Herning published a blog post in which she critiqued Swift's song lyrics and music video images and linked them to white supremacy beliefs. The ACLU says the blogger's opinions are protected under the First Amendment
In her opinion piece, Herning urged Swift to publicly denounce the alt-right and supremacists who have interpreted her songs as supporting their cause.
She drew comparisons between some of the imagery Swift used in her Look What You Made Me Do music video and the Nazi's and also claimed some of the song's lyrics could be interpreted as racial politics.
She wrote that the pop star's 'silence in the face of injustice means support for the oppressor.'
The ACLU has requested a response from Swift and her attorney by November 13 confirming that they will not pursue a lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Swift's new album Reputation is set to drop on Friday.
New music: Meanwhile, the pop star's new album Reputation is set to be released on Friday
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