Taylor Swift Donated a Bunch of Money to a Tennessee LGBTQ Advocacy Group

A newly-political Taylor Swift donated $113,000 to a pro-LGBTQ group in her adopted home state of Tennessee.

In addition to the princely sum Swift gave to the Tennessee Equality Project, which “advocates for the equal rights of LGBTQ people in Tennessee,” she also included a nice handwritten note, which read:

I’m writing you to say that I’m so inspired by the work you do, specifically in organizing the recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders standing up against the Slate of Hate in our state legislature. Please convey my heartfelt thanks to them and accept this donation to support the work you and these leaders are doing.

I’m so grateful that they’re giving all people a place to worship.

The so-called slate of hate consists of twelve separate bills—six companion bills in the House and Senate—that span a range of repressive proposals. One attempts to ban gay marriage in the state; another would extend Tennessee’s indecent exposure laws in a bid to target transgender people. Two other bills would allow Tennessee adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ parents on the basis of “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

In response, dozens of religious leaders have denounced the bills, adding their names to a statement that says the proposed legislation promotes “discrimination rather than justice and demean the worth of LGBTQ people in our state.”

Chris Sanders, head of Tennessee Equality Project, wrote in a Facebook post that Swift “sees our struggle in Tennessee and continues to add her voice with so many good people, including religious leaders, who are speaking out for love in the face of fear.”

Swift, who for most of her career remained mum on politics, broke her silence last October when she endorsed Democrat Phil Bredesen’s Senate bid. Bredesen may have lost, but Political Taylor Swift is the definitely a version of her we need to see more of.