Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore is receiving a rough reception from critics, currently sitting at 43 on Metacritic.

The four-song expansion has earned mostly mixed-to-negative reviews, with critics calling the new material derivative, uneven and too similar to what was already on the original album. The Irish Times is the major outlier so far, awarding it an 80/100.

By ATRL StaffWe’ve tried to give Taylor the benefit of the doubt, but the billionaire bubble has officially claimed her.The last few months alone have given us the wedding discourse and plenty of questions about whether Taylor has become completely disconnected from the world around her. We’ve mostly stayed quiet. But there are only so many things you can explain away before your fave decides to make the case herself.Which brings us to “Cleveland!,” from Taylor’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore.“Now I’m wearing white, so hate all you like / This is the love of my life.”We all know the obvious explanation. She got married. She’s wearing a white dress. Congratulations. Beautiful. Whatever. But Taylor didn’t say “I’m wearing A white dress.” She said she’s “wearing WHITE.” And what exactly has Taylor been wearing every single day of her life?White skin.And of ALL the cities she could have named this song after, she chose Cleveland? Greater Cleveland, which Community Solutions has described as one of the most segregated large metropolitan areas in the country?Yes, we’re aware Travis allegedly grew up in Cleveland Heights. That’s supposedly why we’re here. But if anything, that raises more questions. You had access to this information. You had a primary source in the house. And THIS is where you decide to announce that you’re “wearing WHITE” and people can HATE ALL THEY LIKE? And then tell us your husband “likes what he likes”?Oh, so now Travis is involved too?Mind you, “Cleveland!” is hardly the first sign. The Life of a Showgirl already gave us the discourse around her implicit shots at Travis’s ex, an unemployed Black woman who minded her business and helped that man glow up.“Opalite” and “Eldest Daughter” were the first warning signs. In hindsight, maybe we should have paid closer attention to the alleged eugenics and gentrification undertones of “Wi$h Li$t.” She already told us she likes her friends “CANCELLED!” Well, girl, we’re listening.Taylor can have super rich people getting even richer off ICE contracts at her wedding. She can introduce her husband to a restaurant group accused of firing workers over their pro-Palestinian activism. She can proudly wear WHITE. At the end of the day, Travis likes what he likes. She DOESN’T care okay! 🖐️🙄 She is in LOVE and she IS a girls girl btw.Look at how she supports up-and-coming white artists like Gracie, Sabrina, Tate, Maisie and Sombr. But artists of colour? Olivia (Filipino), Charli (Indian), Billie Eilish (Irish).The pattern speaks for itself.Apparently the feminist takeaway is also that you just need to find a man who considers you sufferable. Once you get the ring, who cares what anybody else thinks? Trad wife allegations aging quite well it seems.Then there’s the fact that white supremacists spent YEARS trying to claim Taylor as some kind of Aryan ideal. Yet here we are: “Cleveland!” Wearing WHITE. Hate all you like. My husband likes me this way.Girl, these are some interesting choices.And please don’t tell us we’re reading too much into the lyrics. We ARE Swifties (not @khorkina). We have master’s degrees in Swiftology. We know colors mean things. Outfits mean things. Numbers mean things. If Taylor walks down 13 stairs on a Tuesday, Reputation TV is coming. But we’re supposed to believe the fandom that survived five holes in the fence should suddenly treat WHITE as a coincidence? Be serious. We’re simply applying the education we received.How much longer are we going to turn a blind eye to this? She said WHITE. Her husband likes her that way. She told us we can hate all we like.At some point we have to believe her.Additional research, sourcing and fact-checking provided by THOTS (The Haters of Taylor Swift).