About

Tay Hate Card is a catchphrase used in reference to Taylor Swift, suggesting that you can hate on Taylor Swift, aka use the "Tay hate card," to push your career forward and garner fans. The phrase was popularized in memes on X / Twitter in mid-April 2025 after X user @tearsoftaylor made a post suggesting that musical artist Lorde, who is rumored to have had a falling out with Swift, will use the "Tay hate card" to promote her new album. Many of the memes joke as if the Tay hate card is a physical card that can be used in a variety of situations.

Origin

On June 17th, 2017, The Guardian^[1] published an interview with musical artist Lorde. At one point in the interview, Lorde says that being friends with "someone as famous as Taylor Swift" is like "having a friend with an autoimmune disease," saying, "There are certain places you can’t go together. Certain things you can’t do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship." Lorde later apologized for the comment, writing on X, "didn’t mention taylor, but regardless, i f--– up & that was really insensitive. i’m sorry."^[2] Despite this, the incident sparked long-lasting, unverified rumors that their friendship fell apart.^[3]

On April 12th, 2025, X^[4] user @tearsoftaylor made a post that translates to, "Lorde will use the tay hate card to hit, just watch," garnering over 2,200 likes and 1,200 reposts in three days. The post refers to claims that Lorde is releasing a new album in 2025.^[5]

Spread

The post inspired discourse and memes on X about using the "Tay hate card." For example, on April 13th, 2025, X^[6] user @haimlationships posted a GIF under the caption, "me at the market making purchases with the tay hate card," garnering over 3,900 likes in two days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References