Taylor Swift’s status as a proud childless cat lady set her apart in 2024, according to Yale University’s list of the year’s most notable quotes.
Swift, 34, gave herself that moniker in a post via Instagram on September 10, in which she endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. It’s a reference to Vice President-elect JD Vance‘s three-year-old comment regarding, “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”
The globetrotting superstar posted her lengthy endorsement next to a photo of herself holding one of her three cats, Benjamin Button. (She’s also the proud mom of cats Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson.)
Swift wrote that she decided to wade into politics after seeing AI-generated videos of her endorsing President-Elect Donald Trump.
“The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth,” she wrote.
Though Swift’s quote was related to a major political moment, she is the only non-politician to crack the top five of Yale’s list. In an election year when seemingly every gaffe and off-hand remark from all corners of the spectrum went wild on social media, the university clarified that these quotes were chosen for their impact, not eloquence.
“Please note that the items on this list are not necessarily eloquent or admirable quotations, rather they have been picked because they are famous or important or particularly revealing of the spirit of our times,” said associate director at the Yale Law Library Fred Shapiro, who compiled the list.
Harrison Butker, teammate of Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, also made the list. The Kansas City Chiefs kicker made waves in the spring for his controversial commencement address at Benedictine College. His comment about women came in at No. 7.
“Some of you [women] may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said in his May 11 speech.
The shortest quote on the list comes from New York Mets player Jose Iglesias. Simply, “OMG,” the quote is also the name of Iglesias’ song and became the rallying cry for the underdog team as they made their run to the 2024 National League Championship Series. He later performed the mostly Spanish song at the annual MLB Awards Show and Pitbull even released a remix of “OMG” in October.
