You have to be really bored to provoke Taylor Swift fans. It's probably pretty boring to be in Metallica in 2026. No shade. But lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, maybe in an attempt to distract from the Geese psyop allegations, recently wore a T-shirt onstage that said "Taylor Swift Is a CIA Psyop." Now, Swifties are attacking.
The dubious garment was worn at their Budapest gig on June 13 at the Puskás Aréna. To be fair, Swift is a billionaire and keeps advocating for the incredibly insufferable emerging musician Sombr, who is probably the real CIA psyop here. At least Swift has talent. Unrelatedly, she currently has the #1 song with her Toy Story tune "I Knew It, I Knew You," which is fine. Her debut single, "Tim McGraw," which is awesome, turned 20 on Friday (June 19).
The funny thing about the T-shirt, though, is the placement of the text, with "Taylor Swift" on the top and "Is a CIA Psyop" on the bottom, which was blocked by his guitar. So, really it could've been mistaken for Swift merch, at least if you ignored the design of Swift with her eyes creepily whited-out. Anyway, better not to bait Taylor Swift fans, because they probably have a lot of fun attacking.
Hammett's controversial wardrobe choice comes as the guitarist says modern "songwriting and pop music is crap." Talking to The Irish Times about learning to play guitar, he said, "I kind of lament those days when people had to really struggle to learn, because it’s all in the struggle." He continued...
I just worry about, how things are so perfect these days, the musicianship. It’s great that all these guitar players have all this vast knowledge of technique at their fingertips. I wonder where it’s leading to.
I hope it leads to a better quality of pop music, popular music, and just a better quality of songwriting. Because right now, songwriting and pop music is crap. I’m hoping that all these great musicians who can teach themselves through the internet step up and put all that great learning and all that great inspiration into creating new stuff, new songs, the future of music, and at a higher standard than what it is now. Because I’ll say it again, K-R-A-P. Crap. Sorry for all you pop fans out there.
His interview with the Times was tied to Metallica's Dublin shows, which were the weekend following Budapest. There — at the first show since he wore the Taylor Swift shirt — Hammett fell offstage during "Seek & Destroy":
