Todd Rundgren Makes Bold Taylor Swift Declaration: ‘She Ruined Music’

Michelle Stein September 29, 2026, 9:48 am

Todd Rundgren, Taylor Swift — Per Ole Hagen/Getty Images; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

What To Know

Todd Rundgren criticized Taylor Swift, claiming she “ruined music” and represents “the apotheosis of mediocrity.”
He attributed the dominance of female artists in the music industry to a shift in the ’90s, when boys began spending more on video games and the industry targeted young girls as consumers.
Despite Rundgren’s remarks, Swift continues to achieve major milestones, including multiple awards, Hall of Fame inductions, and the record-breaking success of her Eras Tour.

Todd Rundgren made a bold declaration about Taylor Swift as the pop superstar dropped The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore and prepared to snag three wins at the 2026 VMAs.

In an interview with Vulture published on September 25, the ’70s rockstar, 78 — who is best known for songs like “I Saw the Light” and “Hello It’s Me” — spoke out about the “Patient Zero” singer, 36.

When asked who he would make fun of in a song today, similar to how he produced 1977’s “Bat Out of Hell” by Meat Loaf at the expense of Bruce Springsteen, Rundgren named Swift.

“Taylor Swift, of course,” he answered. “There’s an argument to be made that she ruined music. It’s an understandable phenomenon.”

Rundgren then proclaimed, “To me, Taylor Swift is the apotheosis of mediocrity. It’s the era of the female artists.”

Additionally, he blamed video games for women dominating the music industry today.

“Back in the ’90s, boys stopped spending money on music and started spending it on video games, and that left the music market with, ‘Well, where do we go here?'” he explained. “And they said, ‘Well, there’s all these young girls, and they’ve got their allowances, too. Why don’t we start making music for young girls instead of Pearl Jam or something like that?”

Rundgren rose to fame in the late ’60s as part of the psychedelic rock band Nazz. In the early ’70s, he embarked on a solo career and found success with the single “We Gotta Get You a Woman.”

By 1972, Rundgren released his most famous album, Something/Anything?, which included hits like “Hello It’s Me” and “I Saw the Light.” He went on to form the rock band Utopia and work as a producer, most notably for Meat Loaf’s album Bat Out of Hell. In 2021, Rundgren was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Meanwhile, Swift has won 14 Grammy Awards, 33 MTV Video Music Awards, 40 American Music Awards, and 49 Billboard Music Awards, among other accolades. The “Shake It Off” singer was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2026. Additionally, her Eras Tour is the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.