Back in June 2022, Toby Keith announced his ongoing fight with stomach cancer. Not shying away from his diagnosis, the country singer continuously updated fans about his condition throughout the years. Sadly, On February 5, at 62, the icon passed away. Over the last day, singers from all genres took a moment to pay tribute to the late star and share their stories about getting the chance to perform with Keith. But one notable singer has remained silent on the matter and country singer John Rich wanted to know why as he spoke out about Taylor Swift.
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While many poured in love and support for Keith, Rich took to Twitter to know why Swift had yet to address the passing of the country icon. He wrote, “When is @taylorswift13 going to share some words about Toby Keith? The man who discovered her, got her the 1st record deal? Taylor, where are you today?”
Toby Keith Helped Kickstart Taylor Swift
Gaining over 30,000 likes, fans jumped into the comment section, with some agreeing with Rich. One fan wrote, “Wow! Thank you for posting this! I had nooooooooo idea! I knew she moved here from New York and there was some controversy about her dad buying all her music to make it go #1 or something like that …… but this is the first time I have ever known that Toby Keith signed her. RIP.” At the same time, others defended Swift. “Well, as she’s on a flight to Tokyo, I’m guessing she’ll write something when she has time to write something poignant. The Friends cast took 2 weeks to process and write their dedications to Matthew Perry.”
Back before Swift became one of the biggest stars in the world, she announced she signed with Big Machine Records, which Keith owned a stake in. At the time, Swift recalled meeting Keith, admitting, “You’re in the room with him and you can feel it. There’s a power there. You’re just like, ‘Oh my God.’ I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I won’t see him and be like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Toby Keith.’”
Although silent for now, it is only a matter of time before Swift fashioned a heartfelt message about the star who helped launch her career.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
