Ben Shapiro rips ‘middle age’ Taylor Swift for cosplaying as a 17-yr-old

Conservative pundit and podcaster Ben Shapiro is calling upon “middle-aged” women and men to act their age.

The self-described “grumpy old man” took issue with mega-star Taylor Swift, who “pretends to be a lovelorn 16-year-old girl, when in fact Taylor Swift is currently age 35,’ he said on his podcast.

Shapiro continued his rant and called on more female celebs to “grow up,” according to the Daily Mail.

“There is this thing that’s happening in our culture where a bunch of people are masquerading as 17-year-olds who are actually middle-aged,” he said. “If you are of middle age, you should act like you are middle age… Like you’re not a 17-year-old, or a 21-year-old trying desperately to gain attention.”

He’s not wrong. People are living longer and using “life hacks”, whether supplementation, plastic surgery, specifics diets, or all of the above to beat the inevitable ageing. Celebrities, of course, have access to all kinds of age-defying trickery, and plenty of them want to show it off.

The question is, should they?

Take, for instance, soon-to-be 63-year-old (!!!) Paula Abdul, whose video recently made the rounds for her incredible shape:

mind you Paula Abdul is 62 and still killing it pic.twitter.com/qbVXfikVnT

— y2k (@y2kpopart) July 8, 2024

But women celebs like Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, and Swift weren’t the only ones on Shapiro’s radar.

The conservative pundit also ripped popular podcaster Theo Von.

“I enjoy Theo Von as much as the next guy — although I think that his political takes are insanely stupid… I mean, Theo Von’s a comedian. That’s fine, it’s also worth noting Theo Von is 45 years old,” Shapiro said.

“Theo Von is four years older than I am. In the olden days, Theo Von would be closing in on the gold watch and retirement, and he dresses like a skater who’s 16 years old, wears his hat backwards, and acts as though he’s a refugee from the stoners club in junior high.

“It’s a little weird… I see a bunch of people who are sort of in the podcast space, who are cosplaying at being 17-year-old Beavis and Butthead types.”

Shapiro defended his position on X, where he received backlash for his comments.

“I am a fuddy-duddy. I am a grumpy old man. I’ve always been a grumpy old man. I was a grumpy old man when I was a teenager.

“There is something strange about a country that is rapidly aging in which because we are rapidly aging, and we don’t have enough kids, we have decided that adults are going to be the new kids,” he said.

Food for thought.

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