Our Polish brethren have been in the news lately as the LGBTQ community has suffered from homophobic attacks and a campaign to distribute “LGBT-free zone” stickers in July.
In an effort to combat the rise in homophobia, married couple Jakub Kwieciński and David Mycek repurposed Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down” with a group of Polish friends.
“You Need to Calm Down” was released by Swift at the start of this year’s LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The lyrics include “You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace / And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate / Cause shade never made anybody less gay.”
Later in the song, Swift sings, “Can you just not step on his gown?”
Kwieciński and Mycek cast allies including local advocates, politicians and media personalities. Kwieciński and Mycek married in 2017.
“It is really amazing tribute to the LGBTQ community,” Kwieciński told Yahoo News. “We wish [Swift] was Polish because with her open heart and power, she might change a lot here. Polish artists don’t support our community too much. They don’t want to lose conservative fans and don’t want to upset the government, which is in charge of our national television.”
“Poland is one of the most homophobic countries in Europe, so people usually are afraid to express themselves,” he said. “We need to let people know us — show them that we are their doctors, neighbors, hairdressers and so on.”
