Overview

• Swift released her twelfth studio album this week, drawing praise and frustration as listeners focus on explicit lines, especially in the track “Wood.”
• Author and podcaster Sophie Passmann posted a critical TikTok, saying she regrets having recently lauded Swift’s songwriting given the overtly sexual new lyrics.
• An international event film, “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” is playing in hundreds of cinemas with a roughly 90‑minute mix of music videos, making‑of footage and lyric videos.
• Tagesspiegel reports the cinema presentations use softer wording for some lines (for example, “opened my skies” in place of “opened my thighs”), and notes fan fatigue with persistent merch pushes and multiple vinyl editions.
• Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on a radio show he expects the album to be played loudly at team facilities, adding he had not yet listened but looked forward to it.