Josh Hutcherson Says Backlash Over His Taylor Swift Comments Is Why He ‘Doesn’t Want To Be Online’
Josh Hutcherson has responded after his comments about “definitely not” being a Swiftie drew backlash from Taylor Swift’s fans last year.
The hullabaloo kicked off when Hutcherson did a video interview for i-D Magazine with his I Love LA co-star Jordan Firstman.
While scrolling through his photos folder as part of the interview, Hutcherson came across a picture of him and his mum in the VIP section of the Eras Tour.
“My mum made me,” Hutcherson said when explaining the photo. “I’m not a Swiftie. Very much not. No shade, all respect, but definitely not.”
The Hunger Games star recalled the reaction to those comments in a recent interview with GQ, saying the “heat” he received from Swifties is “why I don’t want to be online”.
“I got some heat because I did a photo shoot with Jordan, and Jordan asked me something about being a [Taylor Swift fan], and I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m definitely not a Swiftie,’” Hutcherson recalled.
“All of a sudden it garnered this, ‘Fuck him! He’s a monster! Destroy him! He’s short! He hates her because he’s short!’ It’s just like, whoa! I think she’s great. Her music is not my kind of music. That is why I don’t want to be online,” he added.
Hutcherson went on to say this kind of commentary is why he shies away from social media whenever he isn’t promoting a new project, because he “[doesn’t] need that energy”.
“[It’s] counterintuitive to my job, because if people know you more, you can’t disappear into characters. They see you as, ‘Oh, that’s Josh’. If you’re a meme, people know you for the meme,” he said.
For his part, Firstman said in the i-D interview that Hutcherson was throwing a “little bit of shade” when he mentioned not liking Swift’s music, but added that the singer “can handle it”.
Swift hasn’t responded to Hutcherson’s comments, but with countless fans all over the globe, she can probably do without a singular unsold ticket on her tour!
Lead images: Getty and i-D Magazine
