Taylor Swift has been removed from a well-known downtown Nashville mural and her fans aren't happy about it. The mural is on Legends Corner, a bar located next to the Ryman Auditorium and includes country artists such as Blake Shelton, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and more.
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Swift, who became the youngest artist to win a CMA Entertainer of the Year award in 2009, has been replaced on the mural by Brad Paisley. The image of Paisley now appears sitting in the chair where Swift previously appeared.
Legends Corner Mural
The mural is the work of artist Tim Davis, who is in the process of overhauling the mural.
USA Today reports that Davis has been working on making changes to the mural in the past week.
"Ultimately, the changes are not up to me, but up to the owners of the Legends Corner bar. ... They have had the intention from the start to change it up once in a while, taking some artists off and adding others," Davis wrote in an email to USA Today.
While Davis is a fan of Swift, he tells USA Today many Nashville visitors have expressed anger of Swift's inclusion on the iconic Nashville mural.
"I have heard many complaints here in Nashville about Taylor being on the wall with country legends since she is currently focused mainly on pop," Davis said. "Some inebriated bar hoppers have spit on her image specifically, feeling betrayed by her venture from country. I guess this is to be expected, but by in large, the people of Nashville love her, as do I."
Swift's fans have taken to social media to protest the change. Despite Swift's recent focus on pop music, fans say Swift's success in the genre has earned her a permanent place on the mural celebrating country music legends.
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Taylor Swift has done just as much for Country music as any other artist on this mural. I?m disgusted https://t.co/P8mNqVmUIz
