Taylor Swift gets invited to prom by cancer-ridden boy.

[MariaE]

I'm not usually terribly fond of Taylor Swift, but this goes way beyond classy and into "Well done!" territory: http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/our-country/cancer-fighting-teen-invites-taylor-swift-prom-gets-214655227.html. 

[Nora]

That went from a little creepy, to very nicely done!

[Sabbyfrog2]

You know, we've talked about stuff like this before here and I am always torn. I think it's very sweet when a celeb takes the extra time to do these things, and clearly I think Swift is going above and beyond, but I find this trend of virtual celeb date requests unsettling.
 
When the soldier asked out Mila Kunis, and immediately following, another one asked out Justin Timerlake, it seemed to start a wave of these things. It's almost expected now that celebs will just drop everything that they are doing to go to some event with a fan. It's incredibly unfair of the person to put them on the spot like that, and, like Barefoot Contessa, heaven help the celeb if they say no.

I wonder how many people would have been playing the cancer card in addition and demanded boycott of her concerts, lambasted her publicly, and all around slandered her if she'd said no and not countered with the award show offer.

[Winterlight]

You know, we've talked about stuff like this before here and I am always torn. I think it's very sweet when a celeb takes the extra time to do these things, and clearly I think Swift is going above and beyond, but I find this trend of virtual celeb date requests unsettling.
 
When the soldier asked out Mila Kunis, and immediately following, another one asked out Justin Timerlake, it seemed to start a wave of these things. It's almost expected now that celebs will just drop everything that they are doing to go to some event with a fan. It's incredibly unfair of the person to put them on the spot like that, and, like Barefoot Contessa, heaven help the celeb if they say no.

I wonder how many people would have been playing the cancer card in addition and demanded boycott of her concerts, lambasted her publicly, and all around slandered her if she'd said no and not countered with the award show offer.

I agree. I don't think it's polite to put someone else on the spot like this. If someone started a Facebook campaign to try to get another student at the school to go with him to prom, I think we'd all consider that rude and pushy.

[Judah]

You know, we've talked about stuff like this before here and I am always torn. I think it's very sweet when a celeb takes the extra time to do these things, and clearly I think Swift is going above and beyond, but I find this trend of virtual celeb date requests unsettling.
 
When the soldier asked out Mila Kunis, and immediately following, another one asked out Justin Timerlake, it seemed to start a wave of these things. It's almost expected now that celebs will just drop everything that they are doing to go to some event with a fan. It's incredibly unfair of the person to put them on the spot like that, and, like Barefoot Contessa, heaven help the celeb if they say no.

I wonder how many people would have been playing the cancer card in addition and demanded boycott of her concerts, lambasted her publicly, and all around slandered her if she'd said no and not countered with the award show offer.

I agree. I don't think it's polite to put someone else on the spot like this. If someone started a Facebook campaign to try to get another student at the school to go with him to prom, I think we'd all consider that rude and pushy.

I agree. It's very rude to put someone on the spot like that; it basically leaves the celebrity with no good choices.  Either they accept the invitation, which they may not want, or they decline and have to deal with the PR fallout.  I do think that Taylor Swift handled it very well, but she shouldn't have had to handle it at all.

[Surianne]

I agree as well.  She did a really nice thing, but the whole story rubs me the wrong way.  I don't think it's fair to try to pressure a celebrity into doing what you want, or face bad publicity, and it bothers me that the Facebook tactic was rewarded. 

[RobinJ]

I agree as well.  She did a really nice thing, but the whole story rubs me the wrong way.  I don't think it's fair to try to pressure a celebrity into doing what you want, or face bad publicity, and it bothers me that the Facebook tactic was rewarded.

I agree completely.  But the way Taylor Swift handled it was very wise.  There will be a lot better security at the awards show than a HS prom.

[Surianne]

For sure, it was a very smart choice.  I don't know her music well but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

(edited to fix weird quoting)

[Shoo]

The first time it happened, it was kind of charming.  Now, it's just silly.  It's time for celebrities to start saying no, but I don't blame Taylor for not wanting to be the first one to do so, especially with a boy who has cancer.  It seems like celebrities just can't win.

[Onyx_TKD]

I agree with the PPs who said that while Taylor Swift is being very classy in her handling of this, she shouldn't have been put in this position to start with.

I found this quote from the article in the OP especially creepy (it's from the boy's sister who set this up):

"Nothing, and I mean NOTHING brightens Kevin's day more than Taylor Swift," she continued. "Kevin DESERVES more than anyone a special event in his life."

Kevin may be a wonderful guy who deserves happiness, but no one "deserves" having a celebrity be their prom date. If she knew he was a big fan and offered to go to the prom with him, great, but no one, however saintly, "deserves" to have someone pressured into a date with them.

[Winterlight]

I agree as well.  She did a really nice thing, but the whole story rubs me the wrong way.  I don't think it's fair to try to pressure a celebrity into doing what you want, or face bad publicity, and it bothers me that the Facebook tactic was rewarded.

I agree completely.  But the way Taylor Swift handled it was very wise.  There will be a lot better security at the awards show than a HS prom.

That's what I was thinking- if I did get stuck in this situation, I want to have people I know around me. A high school prom full of strangers? Not such a great situation.

I agree with the PPs who said that while Taylor Swift is being very classy in her handling of this, she shouldn't have been put in this position to start with.

I found this quote from the article in the OP especially creepy (it's from the boy's sister who set this up):

"Nothing, and I mean NOTHING brightens Kevin's day more than Taylor Swift," she continued. "Kevin DESERVES more than anyone a special event in his life."

Kevin may be a wonderful guy who deserves happiness, but no one "deserves" having a celebrity be their prom date. If she knew he was a big fan and offered to go to the prom with him, great, but no one, however saintly, "deserves" to have someone pressured into a date with them.

Yeah, that bugs me too. Nobody "deserves" a date. Especially with someone who's never met them.

[Surianne]

I found this quote from the article in the OP especially creepy (it's from the boy's sister who set this up):

"Nothing, and I mean NOTHING brightens Kevin's day more than Taylor Swift," she continued. "Kevin DESERVES more than anyone a special event in his life."

Kevin may be a wonderful guy who deserves happiness, but no one "deserves" having a celebrity be their prom date. If she knew he was a big fan and offered to go to the prom with him, great, but no one, however saintly, "deserves" to have someone pressured into a date with them.

Yes, that bit was really creepy, wasn't it?  I feel bad for Kevin -- he's may be a perfectly sweet kid who doesn't think of himself that way (deserving the prom date to the point of pressuring her), but when his sister says something like that, it makes him sound very entitled by proxy. 

[melicious]

The first time it happened, it was kind of charming.  Now, it's just silly.  It's time for celebrities to start saying no, but I don't blame Taylor for not wanting to be the first one to do so, especially with a boy who has cancer.  It seems like celebrities just can't win.

True. Celebs are probably going to feel pressured to consent to these things now, lest they look like a big meanie for not doing so. And now anyone with a sad story could try to take advantage of this fact to get a "date" with a celebrity because they feel they DESERVE it. ANd the Barefoot Contessa had a decent explanation - I believe she was on a book tour or something at the time her presence was requested - yet people STILL treated her like she was a big meanie!

[Lynnv]

The first time it happened, it was kind of charming.  Now, it's just silly.  It's time for celebrities to start saying no, but I don't blame Taylor for not wanting to be the first one to do so, especially with a boy who has cancer.  It seems like celebrities just can't win.

True. Celebs are probably going to feel pressured to consent to these things now, lest they look like a big meanie for not doing so. And now anyone with a sad story could try to take advantage of this fact to get a "date" with a celebrity because they feel they DESERVE it. ANd the Barefoot Contessa had a decent explanation - I believe she was on a book tour or something at the time her presence was requested - yet people STILL treated her like she was a big meanie!

And even if her reason was a simple as not wanting to do it, it should not have resulted in the nastiness that ensued from that situation.  Which is why I find it so disturbing and downright creepy.  "Go on a date with me or risk harming to reputation and financial losses as a result" is not romantic or sweet in my book.

And the sister's comment about him 'deserving' a date with Ms Swift is way, way over the line, IMO.

[Adelaide]

Taylor's a person. She's not something that someone "deserves" or can "earn" via a facebook campaign or rally or something else. I think it's really rude of those people to put her in the position of looking cold and unfeeling, like "Oh, I said I wouldn't go to the prom with this boy with cancer". However, she handled it in a classy manner, poor girl.