Did Taylor Swift call Kelis song “Ghetto”? Viral claim explored as old clip sparks outrage

An old video of Taylor Swift recently garnered attention from social media users. Many have slammed The Tortured Poets Department singer-songwriter for her remarks in the short clip. 

For those unaware, Ellie Julieann (@swifttitude) uploaded a video of a young Taylor Swift on Instagram in May 2025. In the clip, the Fearless singer is seen with her mother’s phone, which has Bossy (by Kelis and Korma) as the ringtone. Taylor seemingly jokes as she is heard saying: 

“That’s my mom’s really ghetto ringtone.” 

While Taylor Swift didn’t directly refer to Kelis or her song, she quipped about her mother’s choice of ringtone, which happens to be a version of Bossy. The clip resurfaced months back, but went viral after a user named Mary Jane Girl posted about it on Lipstick Alley, sparking criticism for the singer. The user called Swift overrated, while writing: 

“Apparently, Taylor’s mother had ‘bossy’ as a ringtone and Taylor found it to be ghetto! This is why I’ve never liked this overrated blonde ***” 

Read on to learn how others reacted to the original post targeting the Evermore artist. 

Internet users slam Taylor Swift, after an old video of her calling the ‘Bossy’ ringtone ‘ghetto’ goes viral 

The seemingly light-hearted remarks from the Midnights artist towards her mother didn’t sit well with many social media users. Many called out the Grammy-winning singer and her fanbase in a Lipstick Alley thread. 

While almost everyone found Swift’s comments problematic, certain users called her an ignorant teenager (based on the clip), and others lambasted her for alleged racism.

“She’s white **, everything is ghetto to her.,” a user (DontTouchXO) remarked. 

“It’s a shame when you’re a pop star and your mother has better musical taste than you do,” another user (mustbeuniqke) dissed Swift. 

“The only reason she said ghetto is because Kelis is black or because it's rnb. Nothing about Kelis is ghetto. I don't know if she was being racist but she is extremely ignorant,” one user (Midwest snow) wrote. 

“More skeltons will continue to fall out of Taylor‘s closet. Watch..,” another one (Shebad85) claimed. 

A user (nojesting) hit back at Shebad85’s response: 

“A teenage TS calling a ringtone 'ghetto' is a skeleton in her closet. Ok.” 

Another user (sade) defended Swift: 

“She meant ‘hood’ or ‘urban’ but Americans have a horrible way with word usage. I don't even consider it hood honestly as Neptunes aren't those type of producers”

One user (Simlish) pointed out Taylor’s age in the video: 

“Breaking news at 11, teenagers are dumb and say dumb things” 

Another one (killafish) said: 

“I don't know if it is exactly healthy to go through footage of teenage celebrities from 20 years ago and try and find stuff to cancel them over. It seems a bit obsessive to me.” 

Why do I feel like it’s slightly racist to be a Taylor Swift fan?

— Melina Abdullah (@DocMellyMel) February 11, 2024

Some commenters branded the Taylor Swift fans as racists while attacking the singer. However, it is not the first time someone has made such an allegation. A California Professor, Melina Abdullah, sparked controversy in 2024, with a viral tweet that read: 

“Why do I feel like it’s slightly racist to be a Taylor Swift fan?” 

After receiving pushback from the singer’s fans, Abdullah defended her stance and wrote: 

“Folks think they’re attacking me by asking for why I think everything is racist… I’m not offended. Virtually everything is racist.” 

However, Taylor Swift refrained from reacting to the controversy and never replied to the remarks made by Melina Abdullah. According to USA Today, Swift was the subject of another online debate due to her “all the racists” lyrics from her 2024 song I Hate It Here, in which she referenced the 1830s, but didn’t acknowledge slavery or other issues in American Society, prevalent in that era.