Taylor Swift Just Performed at the AMAs and Twitter Is Comparing It to a Witch Ritual

Taylor Swift performed at the 2018 American Music Awards and Twitter had a lot of feelings. See how the internet reacted to Swift's first award show performance in three years here.

2018 American Music Awards - Fixed Show
(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

On Tuesday night, Taylor Swift gave her first award show performance in three years at the 2018 American Music Awards. The Reputation singer opened up the show singing "I Did Something Bad" from the album, and she killed it. At one point, Swift pointed to herself while singing, "They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one."

Her performance comes only two days after she made a rare political statement on her Instagram endorsing two Tennessee Democratic candidates, Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper, ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. "In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now," she wrote on Instagram. "I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country."

2018 American Music Awards - Fixed Show

(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

2018 American Music Awards - Fixed Show

(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

2018 American Music Awards - Fixed Show

(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

2018 American Music Awards - Fixed Show

(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

After Swift made her endorsement, voter registration increased, and fans analyzed her performance very closely. They quite literally compared it to a witch ritual when she sang the lyrics, "They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one."

Swift is nominated in four categories tonight: artist of the year; favorite female artist, pop/rock; favorite album, pop/rock; and favorite tour of the year.

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Rachel Epstein

Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the site’s day-to-day editorial operations. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire, where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. She also launched and managed the site’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC. Offline, she’s likely watching a Heat game or finding a new coffee shop.