A Fox News commentator from the Fox & Friends show has accused Taylor Swift of “virtue signalling” during her acceptance speech at the MTV VMA Awards. During the speech, she spoke about the petition she created to bring the Equality Act into law:

“You voting for this video means that you want a world where we’re all treated equally under the law, regardless of who we love, regardless of how we identify.”

Swift and her cast of dancers made an impact with the opening performance of the song in which she also highlighted the Equality Act.

Taylor Swift just said “GAY RIGHTS!” with her #VMAs performance ?️‍? we stan forever! ? pic.twitter.com/4OYgES5xWM

— Grindr (@Grindr) August 27, 2019

Speaking about Swift’s comments, pundit Allie Beth said: “It’s really unfortunate… people especially like Taylor Swift, the beauty of them, the charm of them, is that they were politically neutral, at least that’s true for Taylor Swift.

“And now she’s kind of waded into these political waters, and it doesn’t seem like they really know what they’re talking about, and they’re not convincing anyone in the middle of the country, or anyone who disagrees with them, because they don’t actually have any kind of a viable argument.

“They like to get out there, and to use the buzz phrase that we use a lot, virtue signal, without too much substance to their argument.”

Over half a million people have already signed the petition to support the Equality Act.

On change.org, Swift explained that the law would extend existing Civil Rights Act provisions to also “protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations”.

Trump administration rejects Swift’s call for supporting equality act

Following Swift’s very public call for a response from the Trump administration, they responded by reaffirming their opposition to the Equality Act.

White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told CNN: “The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, the House-passed bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.”

Thank you @taylorswift13 for using your #VMAs Video of the Year win to bring attention to the #EqualityAct. ?

You can sign the petition here. https://t.co/v11HYLlDLt

— GLAAD (@glaad) August 27, 2019

Sarah Kate Ellis of GLAAD responded: “President Trump’s opposition to the Equality Act, a bill that would protect hard-working Americans against discrimination, shows the unyielding power that anti-LGBTQ activists like the Heritage Foundation have on this administration.

“LGBTQ Americans will not forget the president’s politically craven flip-flop on this fair and just legislation, which further cements his administration’s legacy of being the most anti-LGBTQ government in recent memory.”