Stacey Abrams cheers on Taylor Swift: ‘Your activism has inspired Americans’

Stacey Abrams is applauding Taylor Swift’s political activism, saying the “ME!” singer encourages young people to “make their hopes real.”

The former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate heaped praise on Swift on Friday, the same day the pop star’s Netflix documentary “Miss Americana” debuted. 

“Your activism has inspired Americans  — particularly young people who can feel unseen & unheard (and aren’t always wrong) — to engage and fight for our democracy,” Abrams, a voting rights advocate, wrote.

.@taylorswift13, thank you for encouraging young people to make their hopes real. Your activism has inspired Americans — particularly young people who can feel unseen & unheard (and aren’t always wrong) — to engage and fight for our democracy. #swifties https://t.co/W7vpyP6IVr

— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) January 31, 2020

In “Miss Americana,” Swift explains her reluctance to speak out politically through much of her career.

In 2018, Swift broke her political silence and posted on Instagram her support for two Tennessee Democrats, House candidate Jim Cooper and Senate hopeful Phil Bredesen, in the state’s midterm elections.  

“I’m sad I didn’t say it two years ago,” Swift tells her team in the documentary, when they question whether voicing her political opinions will alienate her fan base. “I want to be on the right side of history.”

Appearing at MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs) that same year, Swift encouraged viewers to vote in the upcoming election.

During her performance at last year’s VMAs, the 30-year-old singer advocated for the Equality Act, legislation that would grant federal protections against discrimination to people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In the Netflix film, Swift is seen writing a new song, “Only the Young,” about get-out-the-vote efforts among young people.

Swift said of the tune, which is played during “Miss Americana’s” closing credits, that “it was hard to see so many people feel like they had canvassed and done everything and tried so hard. I saw a lot of young people’s hopes dashed.”