Don McLean Makes a Bold Declaration About Taylor Swift

Don McLean, who sings the hit song "American Pie," shared some strong opinions and advice for superstar Taylor Swift as she finishes her Eras Tour this year.

McLean spoke with The Standard recently and praised Swift for her work ethic and talent, saying, "She is a person who is an example of what talent and really hard work can accomplish...Taylor Swift was a star for 15 years before she became a monster star, the size of the galaxy for god sake."

He talked about how much Swift works and declared, "She does everything that she does better than everybody else," before changing course to share some important advice for the 34-year-old, saying, "The only thing is that she stays happy."

"You have to be happy with what you’re doing and a lot of people say well if a song or an album isn’t commercially successful that somehow that’s a negative and I don’t even think of it," McLean went on. "It doesn’t matter to me."

McLean had more to say about Swift and her career as well, taking aim at the record companies and calling them "the biggest thieves on the planet." He specifically referenced Swift's situation, when her masters were sold by Scooter Braun, saying, "That was their business stealing. You have to be very careful."

Swifties reacted to McLean's strong words on X, with replies like, "Very high praise from a legend. Rock on Taylor," and "THE DON MCLEAN?? OH TAYLEGEND."

A third chimed in, "The fact that countless legends of music industry literally praise her..oh Taylor the star that you are 🫶."

In 2021, the 10-minute version of Swift's song "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" became the longest No. 1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in history, taking the top spot from McLean's hit song "American Pie."

Next: Taylor Swift’s Former Band Leader Makes Bold Statement About the "Risk" of Working for the Then-16-Year-Old