{
  "id": 10589025,
  "title": "Todd Rundgren Slams Taylor Swift, Says She ‘Ruined Music’ and Is ‘the Apotheosis of Mediocrity’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/todd-rundgren-slams-taylor-swift-says-she-ruined-music-and-is-the",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-29T02:04:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Variety",
    "slug": "variety",
    "url": "https://variety.com/2026/music/news/todd-rundgren-slams-taylor-swift-1236877824/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Todd Rundgren has criticized Taylor Swift, calling her \"the apotheosis of mediocrity\" and suggesting she \"ruined music.\" In an interview with Vulture, Rundgren expressed his opinion that Swift is not exceptional in any particular area, stating she is not a great singer, songwriter, or dancer.\n\nRundgren also praised Lady Gaga as a \"real musician\" and a \"classically trained piano player.\" He theorized that female pop stars rose to dominance after young men shifted their spending to video games in the 1990s.\n\nThis is not the first time Rundgren has criticized Swift, having made similar comments on Rick Rubin's Broken Record podcast in 2022. Swift has not responded to the criticism, previously stating that she respects people's subjective opinions on art.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TheWrap",
        "title": "Todd Rundgren Doubles Down on Taylor Swift Criticism: ‘She Ruined Music’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/todd-rundgren-doubles-down-on-taylor-swift-criticism-she-ruined-music",
        "published": "2026-09-29T02:28:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}