Swift calls out homophobes on new song, announces 7th album

Swift also released a colorful lyric video to match the new song on YouTube late Thursday — appropriately during Pride Month. (File Photo: @taylorswift/Instagram)

NEW YORK – Taylor Swift’s latest song has a new target: homophobes.

Coinciding with the announcement of her seventh album, “Lover,” the pop star has released a new tune called “You Need to Calm Down,” where she addresses her own haters but also calls out those who attack the L-G-B-T-Q community.

At one point on the beat-laden track, Swift sings: “And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate/ ‘Cause shade never made anybody less gay.”

At another point she sings: “You need to just stop, like can you just not step on his gown?”

“You Need to Calm Down” is the second single from “Lover,” to be released on August 23rd.

The song is the follow-up to “ME!,” which featured Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Swift also released a colorful lyric video to match the new song on YouTube late Thursday — appropriately during Pride Month.

A music video will be released Monday.

Earlier this month Swift posted a letter on social media asking Tennessee’s Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander to protect L-G-B-T-Q rights and support the Equality Act.

Swift lives in Tennessee and said she supported the House’s recent passage of the act, which would extend civil rights protections to L-G-B-T people by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

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(The Associated Press)