Taylor Swift is hardly a cipher; after all, the 30-year-old pop star has developed a reputation for an uncommon level of emotional honesty in her music. Nonetheless, Swift still has secrets left to tell, some of which are spilled in Miss Americana, the new documentary about her life and career that hit Netflix on Friday.
“I know that without me writing my own songs, I wouldn’t be here,” says Swift in the documentary, which highlights just how hard she pushes herself to create new music. Watch the trailer below, then read on for the most fascinating things Swift divulges in Miss Americana.
1. She used to write in her diary with a quill and ink.
In one scene, Swift shows off her teenage diaries, proving she’s always been a songwriter. Very Harry Potter–core!
2. She saw that famous Kanye West interruption at the VMA Awards a little differently.
“It was so echoey in there. At the time, I didn’t know that [the audience] were booing him…I thought that they were booing me,” says Swift while discussing the 2009 scandal, adding, “For someone who’s built their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you, the whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience.”
3. She didn’t try her first burrito until she was 26.
The singer admits to the culinary gap during a studio session with her producer, Joel Little. Luckily, Swift has long rectified the situation, and is shown in the documentary chowing down on one with Little.
4. She’s “definitely not ready to have kids.”
Swift is about to turn 29 in the Miss Americana documentary, but she doesn’t feel ready to have children just yet, she tells Little. “I’m definitely not ready for all this grown-up stuff,” she adds.
5. She’s struggled with disordered eating.
Swift is open about her struggles with disordered eating in the documentary, explaining how online trolls triggered her to “starve a little bit, just stop eating. I thought I was just supposed to feel like I was going to pass out at the end of a show, or in the middle of it.”
6. She wears her cat Olivia Benson in a backpack to travel.
Stars: They’re just like us!
7. She was once afraid of ending up like the Dixie Chicks.
Swift was strongly influenced by the career-stalling censure the Dixie Chicks faced when they spoke out against George W. Bush, and consequently resolved not to “force her politics” on people for most of her life as a public figure. She changed all that in 2018, though, coming out with strong support for Democratic candidates in the midterm elections.
8. She’s not immune to the pressures of fame.
“Live out a narrative that we find to be interesting enough to entertain us, but not so crazy that it makes us uncomfortable,” Swift mimics the world telling her. It’s certainly a tall order, but Miss Americana proves Swift has the strength to soldier through it.
Miss Americana is available to stream on Netflix now.
Originally published on Vogue.com
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