Celebrities Are People, People! Taylor Swift Was Swarmed At Jack Antonoff’s Wedding
This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s senior fall editorial intern Maggie Lardie. Find her on Instagram at @maggielardie. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Celebrities are some of the most envied people in the world, and it’s no secret as to why. Between all the fame, money and influence these individuals have, it’s easy to see why practically everyone is at least a little jealous. It can be entertaining to watch award shows, movie premieres and red carpets or attend the concert of a favorite musical artist – believe us, we know! A lot of the time, however, people tend to get so caught up in the fascination of it all that we forget celebrities are very real people. While many celebrities make a career out of providing entertainment, that does not at all mean entertaining the masses is the sole purpose of their existence. Celebrities deserve privacy, respect and consideration, just like everyone else we know.
You might be thinking: “That seems a little obvious, of course celebrities are people who deserve their space!” If you share this idea, congratulations! You are one of many fans who understand boundaries; a concept that is apparently becoming harder to grasp these days. On August 19, music producer/singer Jack Antonoff and actress Margaret Qualley were married. Both Antonoff and Qualley are incredibly close to huge celebrities (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz, just to name a few) who were naturally in attendance for the event. Antonoff and Qualley had been public about their relationship since early 2022, posting Instagram pictures and attending various award shows together. Lana Del Rey even released a song about the couple, fittingly titled “Margaret” and featuring vocals from Antonoff. Despite all of the information the public had access to about the couple, it should’ve gone without saying that weddings are still very much private events; only meant to be enjoyed by the couple and their invited guests. Unfortunately, this was not the case on August 18.
The night before their wedding, Antonoff and Qualley hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Black Whale Bar & Fish House in Beach Haven, New Jersey. All of the guests (including the stars) were in attendance for this event, and the public clearly knew it. In the days following the rehearsal dinner, videos were posted of the enormous crowd that had gathered outside the restaurant, seemingly all being there for Taylor Swift. In addition to repeatedly chanting her name and screaming at the top of their lungs, people even went so far as to make signs for her as if the event were one of her concerts. The internet was furious. Creators made response videos to the incident, addressing how inappropriate the entire situation was. “I love Taylor but half the ‘fans’ make me embarrassed to be a fan,” one creator commented. Another agreed, saying “She isn’t some trained robot, existing solely for your entertainment. She has conveyed over and over again how uncomfortable this makes her. She’s been stalked, she’s been followed, she doesn’t go anywhere without wound kits in case she or someone with her gets injured. Why do you want to scare her?”
This is far from the only time Taylor Swift has been swarmed by mobs of people, and like the comment above states, she has expressed her concern about constantly being in the public eye. Her Netflix documentary Miss Americana started trending in the days following the wedding, in which Swift says “So this is my front yard, and I’m highly aware of the fact that that is not normal” while glancing nervously out the window at the screaming crowd gathered around her front door.
Although it might be one of the more well-known cases, the crowd at Qualley and Antonoff’s wedding is far from the only case in which celebrities’ privacy is completely disregarded. Only three days after the wedding incident, actress Drew Barrymore had an encounter with a stalker of her own. Barrymore was being interviewed by Renée Rapp when a man approached the stage, saying “I’m Chad Michael Busto. You know who I am. I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York-” before he was taken away by security.
Time and time again, celebrities have expressed their discomfort with the paparazzi, stalkers and general invasions of privacy, but the public has proven repeatedly that they don’t care. Being a fan is understandable – encouraged even! But with that, people must understand the difference between showing support for someone and just being plain scary. If you love Taylor Swift, for example, go to her concert or buy her merchandise! Don’t swarm the venue of one of the few private events she gets to attend with her friends. Celebrities deserve privacy.
What are your thoughts on the incidents we mentioned? Let us know in the comments below!