Stepmom Takes Away Little Girl’s Taylor Swift Shirt Because She Doesn’t Like The Singer — Despite Her Bio Mom Paying For It
"So don't think it's in the past; these kinds of wounds, they last, and they last."
A. PAES / Shutterstock In an ideal world, parents and stepparents would center their kids’ needs over their interpersonal issues, but as we all know, the world is messy, and breakups make people act in petty ways.
A mom revealed how a conflict between her daughter and her ex-husband’s new wife echoed outward, raising questions about holding boundaries in blended families.
Danielle Marie Pauline’s daughter was staying with her dad and stepmom, who both happen to “hate Taylor Swift.”
The stepmom took away the girl’s Taylor Swift Era’s Tour shirt because she dislikes the singer, even though her bio mom bought it.
Danielle set the scene, making it clear how the stepmom's attitude hurt her daughter.
“She said she had to get rid of it and get it out of the house,” Danielle said, while Swift’s song “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” played in the background.
The stepmom “Talked to my daughter for hours about how horrible Taylor Swift was and then basically, like, ‘convinced’ my daughter not to like Taylor Swift anymore,” she explained.
“She had my daughter call me, while she was at their house out-of-state, and tell me… while the stepmom was standing there, ‘Mom, I just want to let you know that I don’t like Taylor Swift anymore.’”
Danielle navigated the sticky stepparent situation in the best way possible by assuring her daughter that she could like whoever and whatever she wanted.
“That’s fine if that’s what my daughter really wants,” she said. “But I know the stepmom, and I know their tricks and manipulation tactics, so I was like, ‘Okay, honey, you can like whoever you want; it’s all good.’”
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The mom modeled radical acceptance for her daughter, providing necessary space for her to express herself in an authentic way.
If the young girl wants to pledge her devotion at the altar of all things Taylor Swift, her stepmom’s opinion of the singer really doesn’t matter.
Danielle said that when her daughter came back home, all she wanted to do was listen to “The Tortured Poets Department.”
“That’s all we’ve been doing,” the mom said, as any supportive parent would do.
She asked her daughter where her Eras Tour shirt was, only to discover that the stepmom planned to sell it “and maybe give my daughter the cash.”
“It’s not even about the money,” she said, though she did note it was a $50 shirt, saying, “You all know, it was, like, a $45 plus tax.”
“I bought 5 of them because I have 5 daughters,” Danielle said, showing her devotion to her kids and to Swift Nation. “I couldn’t take them to the Eras Tour, so instead of getting myself a shirt, since I was already at the tour, I just bought them all shirts. It was 200 something dollars, almost $300 for 5 shirts.”
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“Anyway, it’s not about that,” she said. “If you don’t like it, just send it back to my house, whatever.”
Danielle sighed deeply, then expressed what was really on her mind. “I could replace it and get her another shirt, but it’s just, it’s not the same,” she said. “It’s special. It was something I got her at the tour.”
“I’m so mad,” she said. “I know I’m, like, smiling right now, but I’m fuming, I’m so mad.”
No matter what an entirely grown adult thinks about Taylor Swift, cutting the award-winning pop star down and declaring blind hatred in front of a young Swiftie is just cruel and unnecessary.
The stepmom’s move of trashing her stepdaughter’s Eras Tour merch is less about the shirt itself and way more about her own unresolved emotions, which one would guess include anger, envy, and deep insecurity.
Danielle’s final point and level of frustration is totally valid: It’s not about the shirt at all.
It’s about the memories. It’s about the love a mother has for her daughter and her open, generous expression of that affection.
Yet one undeniable truth remains: crossing Swifties never seems to end well — not for major corporations that price-gouge tickets or anyone else who dares to share their negative opinion about Queen Tay.
Maybe, just maybe, this stepmom’s "Bad Blood" is no match for the Swiftie fan-power. After all, as Swift herself sings, “Karma’s a relaxing thought.”
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.