Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images, Monica Schipper/Getty Images, Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for the Recording Academy, Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Variety, Kevin Winter/Getty Images, and Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for the Recording Academy.in her 17-year career, which is to say in pretty much anyone’s career.
Meanwhile, though, anti-Antonoffism boils down to a more straightforward problem of 2023 fan culture, which is that the parasocial relationships fans establish in their minds with their faves make them incredibly defensive,. The idol—“mother,” as Swifties call her—is always already beyond reproach. So if Lorde or Swift or Del Rey puts out music you don’t like, it can’t be because her inspiration or quality control has faltered. It must be because Jack did her dirty.
Disrespectful as this is to Antonoff, it’s ultimately even more so to the artists, and most of all to fans’ own critical faculties. As in Shakespeare’s sonnet about his mistress whose eyes, true love means acknowledging and embracing the human flaws of the beloved, not worshipping her as a god. Admitting it when you feel let down by an artist’s work only adds substance to your appreciation when they truly succeed in moving you.