Greatest Hits radio presenter Ken Bruce faced fierce backlash from Taylor Swift‘s loyal fans after he took a brutal swipe at the singer.
The 73-year-old, who commands an impressive 3.8 million listeners weekly, vowed not to play her music until she stops writing about her ex-boyfriends. The seasoned broadcaster, who announced his departure from BBC Radio 2 in January 2023 after more than three decades, stood firm against the fervent celebrity culture tied to the pop icon.
He told The Mail on Sunday: “All her songs are the same. I’ll play her on my station when she writes something that isn’t about her ex-boyfriends. Great radio songs have three beats and then they’re straight into the song, not these long intros that she does.”
He added: “We’re a 70s, 80s and 90s radio show as our core audience is older.” The radio icon’s comments sparked outrage amongst the 34-year-old’s fans as they slammed him online.
One fumed: “Leave it to an old white man to be completely out of touch….. shocker.” A second said: “There’s literally so many songs that don’t have a romantic theme at all and so many more that revolve around a fictional romance NOT a personal one e.g. cowboy like me, gold rush, right where you left me, cardigan etc.”
Another critic voiced: “Why does an old man who knows nothing about music get to be a radio presenter.” Despite Ken’s refusal to play her songs in their entirety, he does include snippets in his PopMaster Quiz show.
The Scottish star added: “For our audience, we do 70s, 80s and 90s music. We do early noughties and 2010s not very many but we expect people to know things from recent and current music, only the biggest names though.”
Back in June, Ken appeared to take a swipe at the BBC at the TRIC Awards. Ken scooped three gongs for Best Daytime show, Best Radio Show and Radio Personality.
While he was thrilled with his latest victories, he couldn’t resist the chance to take a jab at his former employer.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: “It’s a real privilege actually to have moved on and for people to make the noise and say, you know, you’ve done all right.”
Upon accepting his award on stage, he addressed the audience, saying: “I started 47 years ago this month, it’s amazing I’m still standing up here. It’s been an absolute joy over the age of 60 to reinvent myself as something new.”
He went on to joke: “Now I’m looking forward to doing something else, maybe standing as President of the United States. It’s lovely to see Scotland winning a trophy!”
