Arts & Entertainment

Taylor Swift tweets support for gay fan who came out to her music

Published

7 years ago

November 25, 2019

*Taylor Swift at the American Music Awards (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp)*

When Reid Arthur used Taylor Swift’s music to publicly come out at his university last week, he had no idea the pop star herself would personally voice her support.

Arthur and a group of his friends took part in a Lip Sync battle on stage at the Quaker-founded, George Fox University in Oregon, performing a a mash-up of the Taylor Swift songs “You Need To Calm Down” and “…Ready For It.” At one point in the routine, Arthur took center stage as his friends grabbed the sleeves of his sequined jacket, pulling it off to reveal a white top with rainbow ribbons hanging from the sleeves. The audience gave a huge cheer in response

One of those who performed with Arthur, Allie Schluchter (@AllieSchluchter), tweeted a video of the performance, saying:

“Tonight I helped one of my favorite people come out, and the love and joy that surrounded this moment is going to stick with me for the rest of my life. I’m so proud of you @reidoburrito95.”

Then, on Friday night, Swift tweeted a response:

“This just made me SO emotional. @reidoburrito95 I can’t tell you how honored I am that my song has been even a small part in your journey. You did the brave thing and stood up for your truth.”

Arthur, who is a Swift fan, expressed his delight with his own tweet:

“This woman. My Queen. My Icon. The woman who’s lyrics I have screamed at the top of my lungs. Who’s songs have walked me through the hardest time of my life. TAYLOR ALISON SWIFT. MOTHER OF MEREDITH, OLIVIA, AND BENJAMIN, KNOWS MY NAME. TWEETED ME. I CANNOT CALM DOWN!!!!!”

In another tweet, he added: “HOW AM I EVER SUPPOSED TO DO MY HOMEWORK EVER AGAIN.”

Meredith, Olivia, and Benjamin are the names of Swift’s cats.

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Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

6 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.