Tragedy has struck Nashville, Tennessee.
Not really… unless you happen to be a Taylor Swift super fan (A.K.A. a Swiftie). What actually took place, you might be wondering? A plaque dedicated to the “Cruel Summer” singer was apparently stolen right off of a bench in Nashville’s Centennial Park.
The plaque, which reads “For Taylor Swift: A bench for you to read on at Centennial Park. Welcome home, Nashville,” was originally dedicated to the pop superstar in May of 2023. It stayed screwed to that very bench for around two years, before someone – evidently armed with a flathead screwdriver – swiped it.
Fox 17 News in Nashville shared a picture of the plaque that used to be on the bench in their story about the incident:
Is it a big deal that the Taylor Swift plaque was stolen off of the bench in Nashville? Depends on who you ask, but probably not. Has the announcement of the thievery caused uproar amongst Taylor Swift fans? You bet. But realistically… they’re just gonna get a new plaque and put it back where the original one was. A representative from the Nashville Metro Board of Parks and Recreation has already confirmed that.
Question is… will that be enough for the Swifties? Wouldn’t they want the plaque-stealing culprit to be caught “Red (Taylor’s Version)” handed?
If you know anything about Taylor Swift’s super fan group, they take everything T-Swizzle (they probably just got mad that I referred to her as that) very, very seriously. I once worked with someone who called themselves a Taylor Swift fan, and we were very cordial at first. Personally, I have nothing against Swift and her music.
But one day, I was sitting at my desk listening to John Mayer – an ex of Swift’s – and my coworker questioned why I’d be listening to John Mayer’s music. I said he was one of my favorites, and no joke… she put in her two-weeks maybe the day after that. I don’t want to say me liking the music of one of Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriends was the straw that broke the camel’s back… but it sure seemed like it was.
Ever since then, I’ve been very careful to say anything that could be taken negatively by Swifties. Which is why I won’t be providing any commentary on the Nashville bench plaque dedicated to her being stolen. Instead, I’ll point you towards some of the ruthless comments that were left behind on the Nashville news station’s post, implying that there are a lot of anti-Swifties out there that didn’t care much for the plaque to begin with:
“Oh no, not the bench plaque! How will us Nashvillians recover!?”
“Did they check the nearby toilets?”
“If there isn’t an airstrip for her jet next to it, she’ll never sit there.”
“How will we all live now?”
“A bench that she’s never even sat on.”
“Like she would really go to a park to read.”
“Shake it off.”
“Good. That’s ridiculous. Shouldn’t have ever been put there.”
“Oh no… how can we continue? It’s total anarchy, a collapse of our society.”
“The worst part will be the song she writes about it.”
I would love to know if she’s ever sat on the bench with a book… I’m gonna bet my life on “nope,” not even once… something tells me the park will survive without it.
