Taylor Swift stuns fans with surprise social media move

Taylor Swift has an finally discussed her political values ahead of the US Mid-Term election.

US country-pop superstar Taylor Swift has faced criticism throughout her career for her reluctance to voice her political views — but all that's just changed, in a move that has left many fans stunned.

Today, in a post shared with her 112 million Instagram followers, Swift announced her intention to vote for the Democrats in next month's US midterm elections.

Acknowledging her past silence on political issues — even as many of her entertainment industry contemporaries became increasingly outspoken about America's divisive political climate — Swift writes: "In the past I've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now.

"I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of colour is terrifying, sickening and prevalent," she says.

View this post on Instagram

I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

Swift explains that she will not vote for Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn, despite her desire to "continue voting for women in office."

"Her voting record in Congress appals and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorisation of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values," Swift states.

Instead, Swift announces her intention to vote for Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen for the Senate and Jim Cooper for the House of Representatives, asking fans to educate themselves and vote for candidates "who most closely represents your values".

She ends her post with a plea for "intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people" to register to vote.

Swift has switched off comments on the Instagram post, but elsewhere on social media, the response has so far been positive, some pointing out the irony that Swift has come out as a Democrat just as old foe Kanye West continues his public enthusiasm for Donald Trump.

Swift brings her Reputation stadium tour to New Zealand on November 9 at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium.