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Since securing a seat in the U.S. Senate more than a decade ago, Ted Cruz has cemented a name for himself as a consummate culture warrior. He also (arguably) happens to be Texas’ most embarrassing politician.
Cruz jets off to vacation destinations amid statewide natural disasters. He fails to effectively defend his wife’s honor when a bully attacks her looks.
And, with the flair of an out-of-touch dad desperately trying to seem “hip,” Cruz will occasionally trudge into pop-culture territory, all the while serving “How do you do, fellow kids?” vibes aplenty.
Look no further than the Twittersphere for the most recent example. Late last week, Texas’ junior senator posted about none other than Miss Americana herself, Taylor Swift.
The politician’s tweet condemned sky-high ticket prices while also quoting T-Swift hits like “Blank Space” and “Anti-Hero.”
“Advertised ticket prices for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert in Detroit are a nightmare dressed like a daydream,” he wrote on Thursday. “A dedicated Swifty [sic] will pay exorbitant fees to sit in the bleachers behind the stage. Secondary ticket sellers need to look in the mirror and say ‘I’m the problem. It’s me.’ #TSTheErasTour.”
The TICKET Act guarantees complete price transparency!
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 8, 2023
(OK, just spitballing here: “I’m the problem, it’s me” would make a great slogan for Cruz’s 2024 reelection campaign.)
Included in the senator’s tweet were screenshots of two astonishingly costly tickets to see Swift. Each one was priced at $1,710 – with an additional $1,032 in fees – for a whopping total of $4,452.
The tweet included a photo of the terrible seats’ approximate view.
Cruz added in a follow-up tweet that the so-called TICKET Act, which he sponsored, “guarantees complete price transparency!”
Don’t get us wrong: There’s no way that charging thousands of dollars for heinous seats is justifiable. Cruz’s heart seems to be in the right place on this issue, at least.
But Cruz got roasted over this latest stab at staying culturally relevant all the same. Some social media users pointed out that he’d misspelled “Swiftie,” the term for fans of Swift. Others argued: Expensive tix? That’s just capitalism, baby!
This isn’t the first time that Cruz has taken a stand on pop star-related issues. In September 2021, the Republican official locked arms with the #FreeBritney movement.
Britney Spears, the Princess of Pop, had been battling to break away from a 13-year conservatorship that gave her dad control over her finances and decisions. Cruz demanded reforms during a hearing called “Toxic Conservatorships,” a nod to the title of one of Spears’ most legendary cuts.
Cruz’s pop-music musings extend well beyond Brit and Tay Tay, though. He railed against Sam Smith following February’s Grammy Awards, branding the musician’s live performance as “evil.”
This…is…evil. https://t.co/SBrOgHfFcX
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 6, 2023
Smith and singer Kim Petras had unleashed their song “Unholy” at the Grammys, with the former zhuzhed up to look like Satan wearing platform heels. Cruz simply wasn’t having it. The extremely busy senator was so hot and bothered that he tweeted about it for the better part of a day.
But the music industry apparently isn’t the only entertainment realm that interests Cruz. He has also showcased a non-flaccid grasp of TV and film while fighting to maintain nonpartisan integrity in our children’s shows.
During the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruz took aim at Big Bird of Sesame Street fame after the Muppet shared his vaccination status on Twitter.
“We always knew the media were the Dems’ puppets, but this is getting ridiculous,” Cruz tweeted at the time.
We always knew the media were the Dems’ puppets, but this is getting ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/MmYZxLQlqY
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 9, 2021
Fast-forward a bit to last June, when Cruz griped about “woke Disney” during an episode of his podcast. He’d taken issue with the Buzz Lightyear Toy Story spin-off, indulging in a mind-boggling rant in which he blasted Disney over the film’s inclusion of “lesbian toys.”
Cruz had also previously slammed Disney over the 2021 firing of actress Gina Carano from The Mandalorian “space Western” TV series. Carano upset the show’s top brass by tweeting her thoughts on topics ranging from election fraud conspiracies to mask-wearing.
What sealed her fate, though, was Carano’s apparent comparison of the Jewish people’s persecution amid the Holocaust with being a conservative today.
Yet Cruz came to her aid, tweeting that the Dallas-born MMA fighter-turned-actress had broken “barriers in the Star Wars universe.” He then added, “Of course Disney canceled her.”
Speaking of canceling things, has anyone figured out how to end Texas’ subscription to Ted Cruz? Anyone?
