Taylor Swift and Netflix have released the official trailer for the pop star’s upcoming documentary, Taylor Swift: Miss Americana.
Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival next week, the film will arrive on the streaming platform and in select theaters on January 31st.
The trailer shows behind-the-scenes clips of Swift on tour and in the studio, as well as at her family home during her year of absence from the spotlight. In an on-camera interview with director Lana Wilson, Swift says, “Throughout my whole career, label executives would just say, ‘A nice girl doesn’t force their opinions on people. A nice girl smiles and waves and says ‘Thank you.’ I became the person everyone wanted me to be.”
The clip then shows a montage of negative press Swift has received over the years, including commentary on her body, her friend groups, and her dating life. She later drew ire during the 2016 election for refusing to endorse a particular candidate, with some commentators going as far as to suspect she was a Trump supporter. Following a very public spat with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West in which Swift was labeled as a “snake,” she finally withdrew from the public eye.
“Nobody physically saw me for a year,” she says in the trailer, “and I thought that that was what they wanted.” The clip then shows how Swift once again entered the spotlight with the release of her albums Reputation and Lover, and how she finally broke her silence on political issues.
The documentary reportedly shows Swift penning her open letter to Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn urging her to support the Equality Act, which apparently received pushback from Swift’s team, including her own father.
“I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore,” she says, “and it was my own doing.”
Earlier this year, in a cover story for Rolling Stone, Swift further explained her recent political involvement and her hesitancy to get involved in 2016.
“We were in such an amazing time when Obama was president because foreign nations respected us,” she said. “We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House. My first election was voting for him when he made it into office, and then voting to re-elect him. I think a lot of people are like me, where they just didn’t really know that this could happen. But I’m just focused on the 2020 election. I’m really focused on it. I’m really focused on how I can help and not hinder. Because I also don’t want it to backfire again, because I do feel that the celebrity involvement with Hillary’s campaign was used against her in a lot of ways.”
Swift is nominated for three Grammy Awards this year: Song of the Year for “Lover,” Best Pop Vocal Album for Lover, and Best Pop Solo Performance for “You Need to Calm Down,” the music video for which will be featured and explored in Miss Americana. The 62nd Grammy Awards take place this Sunday, January 26th.
