Shane Pruitt, an evangelist, preacher, and author, recently took to X to call out the “darker turn” he thinks Taylor Swift’s music has taken with her “Tortured Poets Department” album. Then, after his tweet took off, he spoke to the Christian Broadcasting Network about how there is a need to call out “anti-Gospel” music, which he and others see Swift’s new album as being.
In his tweet on the matter, Pruitt said, “LYRICS MATTER. Disclaimer, I’m definitely not the minister or parent that has the “no secular music” stance. Also, I fully realize unbelievers are going to act like unbelievers. HOWEVER, there is a difference between being secular, and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN.”
Then, he took some lyrics from the album to give examples, saying, “For example, here a few lyrics from Taylor Swift’s new album: 
“But daddy I love him / I just learned these people only raise you / To cage you / Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best / Clutchin’ their pearls, sighing, “What a mess” / I just learned these people try and save you ‘Cause they hate you” “God save the most judgmental creeps / Who say they want what’s best for me / Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see / Thinkin’ it can change the beat / Of my heart when he touches me / And counteract the chemistry / And undo the destiny / You ain’t gotta pray for me / Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy / If all you want is gray for me / Then it’s just white noise, and it’s just my choice” “What if I roll the stone away? / They’re gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?” “The smallest man who ever lived / I would’ve died for your sins””
After giving those examples, he argued that it is time for Christians to reconsider supporting Swift, saying, “In transparency I used to listen to Taylor, HOWEVER I think now it’s time to reconsider. As Christians, who are filled with the Spirit should we be entertained by, sing with, and expose our kids to lyrics that aren’t just different than what you believe, but are actually mocking what you believe?”
Speaking to CBN about the same issue, Pruitt said, “I’m not an anti-Taylor guy. I’m [a] pro-Gospel guy.” He continued, explaining the need to call out anti-Christian, anti-Gospel music, “Anything that I know is largely affecting parents, or Christians, or people in the church that seems to … be anti-Gospel, I think we lovingly call it out.”
Further, Pruitt told CBN News that he sees Swift’s music as having changed over the years, becoming “more and more explicit.” He added that, as it has become more explicit, it has also taken a “darker turn” in the process. Explaining why that’s important, he said, “I think we just need to be very aware and very careful of what we’re exposing our kids to and how we’re even engaging with things and being entertained by things that are really anti what we say we believe.”
Pruitt also spoke about the problem he sees in young women identifying as “Swifties” first and Christians later, saying, “[I think this is] very telling that we have our identities out of order. You know that Jesus is the one who died for you. Jesus is the one who forgives. Jesus is the one who gives eternal life. Jesus is the one that gives us hope and encouragement.” He added, “So, if you identify as a Swiftie before you identify as a Christian, I think there’s something fundamentally wrong there.”
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Relatedly, he noted that Christians today get put off when warned about the dangers of idol worship, saying, “In recent years, I can say this — especially in the American Church — if I go, ‘Hey, here’s what the Bible says about sexuality, here’s what the Bible says about marriage, here’s what the Bible says about being pro-life, here’s what the Bible says about God determining sex and gender,’ you’ll get some hardy ‘Amens.’ “People are emboldened by that.” He then said, “If you start talking about, ‘Here’s what the Bible says about idol worship and how we worship idols, and celebrities, and pop singers, and sports … then people are like, ‘Hey, wait a minute!’ They go from being emboldened to offended really quickly.’”
This album wasn’t the first time that Swift attacked Christianity. She did so as well in her 2019 song, “But You Need to Calm Down,” in which she attacked Christians for their stances on cultural issues. Watch that here: