BBC’s Courtney Says Taylor Swift Is “Not Important”

Courtney Love may have a painful summer running into Swifties after claiming that their favorite singer, Taylor Swift, is neither important nor fascinating. In a new interview with The Standard, promoting Love’s BBC Radio series celebrating women in music (oh, the irony), the Hole singer had harsh words for Swift. “Taylor is not important,” she said. “She might be a safe space for girls, and she’s probably the Madonna of now, but she’s not interesting as an artist.”Making room to offend another fandom, Love also stated that Beyoncé isn’t her cup of tea while admiring the “concept” of Queen Bey’s current album, COWBOY CARTER. “I like the idea of Beyoncé doing a country record because it’s about Black women going into spaces where previously only white women have been allowed,” she went on to say. “I just don’t like her music.”Love has even turned on Lana Del Rey, whom she once referred to as one of only “two actual musical geniuses” with her late husband Kurt Cobain: “I haven’t liked Lana since she recorded a John Denver song, and I think she should really take seven years off. I thought she was fantastic until ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’.”Patti Smith, Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Julie London, Joni Mitchell, and Debbie Harry are among the musicians Love praises. Without a hint of self-awareness, she also stated that her show was intended to “redeem some of the women who have been treated so badly by the record industry,” adding, “Women are still marginalized in this industry, even though they’re more successful.”

Whether you agree with Love’s appraisal of Swift’s songs, there is no denying her influence on music. She became the first artist to win four Grammys for Album of the Year earlier this year, and her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, will break all sorts of records when it drops this Friday.

To be fair to Love, she is expressing her subjective opinion that she does not find Swift’s music intriguing, and there is room for argument about whether she is as innovative as the other artists who have influenced her life.

Swift’s “Eras Tour” with Paramore will begin next month in Europe and the United Kingdom (tickets available here). Later this year, she’ll embark on a North American tour with Gracie Abrams (get your tickets here).