Taylor Swift’s former schoolmate has been driven off the internet and questioned by fans for claiming she was sent home for being pregnant while a TV crew filmed the star – after online sleuths noted details in her story didn’t stack up.
Leanne Mahoney alleged she was forced to stay home for four to six weeks while TV crews filmed the then-budding popstar because they didn’t want a pregnant teenager in the background in a viral, since-deleted TikTok video this week.
She also accused liberal Swift of backflipping on her political opinions since high school, claiming the then 14-year-old ‘didn’t believe in abortion’ in September of 2004.
But Swifties were quick to point out elements of Mahoney’s story didn’t add up. That prompted her to post a follow-up clip adjusting her claims, before locking down her TikTok and deleting her X account altogether.
In the initial post that caused the most controversy, Mahoney claimed she was a pregnant classmate of Swift in 2004, aged 16, when a film crew arrived to capture her early days of fame.
‘I was sent home because the school didn’t want a pregnant teen to be seen on TV with Taylor,’ she claimed.
‘They even moved my lunch period so they crew wouldn’t ask questions or create negativity that could affect her future or the school’s image.’
Swift was 14 in September of 2004 – two years younger than Mahoney. There is no record of any film crew attending Hendersonville High School in 2004.
At the time Swift had signed a developmental deal with Sony/ATV, but her meteoric rise to stardom didn’t start until 2005, or pick up pace until 2006, when she released her first single, Tim McGraw.
Mahoney was adamant the incident occurred in September 2004. Her son was born in March 2005, so the film crews who followed Swift at the school in 2005 and 2006 could not have been the ones she was referring to.
Mahoney, an outspoken Trump supporter and employee within Tennessee’s Sumner County government, accused Swift of being complicit in ‘denying my high school education so Taylor could pursue fame’.
She later backtracked and said ‘if’ Swift knew about how she was treated, she should speak out and apologize.
A relative of Mahoney’s has since told DailyMail.com she removed her social media accounts and is now in hospital after struggling with the hate she received while simultaneously battling depression and anxiety.
In September of 2004, Mahoney would have been no more than three months pregnant, and Swift would have just arrived at the school after relocating with her family.
While her initial video laid blame squarely at Swift’s feet for her treatment, she shared another story almost 24 hours later singing a softer tune.
In the second video, she recalled being sent her home ‘for four to six weeks, without explanation’ and accepted she did not ‘know all the ins and outs that actually took place behind closed doors.’
‘I’m not going to completely point the finger at Taylor, our high school, or the camera crew from all the different shows who were there recording her,’ she said.
‘My thing is, if she knows what was going on and what was happening, it’s time to come forward and say something. Be honest and just tell the truth.’
Mahoney received support from fellow Trump supporters in the comment section of her initial video, with people hashtagging #MAGA and posting pro-Trump remarks while saying they, too, hated Taylor Swift.
The video was posted shortly after Donald Trump spoke out against Swift on social media, sharing a comment which read: ‘I hate Taylor Swift.’
He did so after Swift announced she was backing Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election.
Mahoney is an outspoken Trump advocate and veteran who is urging her followers to vote Republican at the upcoming election.
In her video criticizing Swift, she said: ‘When I enrolled in the military I swore to an oath, to protect the freedoms of the American people and the constitution of the United States. Whether I’m still serving or not, until my last breath I will continue fighting.’
But she also faced intense criticism from legions of Swifties who questioned how 14-year-old Swift could ever be responsible for the school allegedly sending her classmate home.
Others noted that Mahoney in 2015 repeatedly asked Taylor Swift to donate to a GoFundMe account, appealing to the popstar that they were once classmates.
‘We went to high school together. Could you please share this veteran’s GoFundMe account,’ she wrote on July 24, 2015, tagging Swift.
And on June 15 that year, she wrote: ‘As a fellow classmate at HHS with you, this is a GoFundMe account that’s actually worth donating to…’
She has since deleted the X account where she made the public appeals to Swift, and has locked down her TikTok after the videos amassed millions of views.
Mahoney later said she ‘never expected’ the video to gain as much traction as it did.
Mahoney’s video appears to be a response to Swift’s recent endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris for president.
Swift said she was impressed particularly by Harris’ running mate Tim Walz for his long term commitment to ‘standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and a woman’s right to her own body.’
The pop star has in the past criticized the decision to overturn Roe v Wade – the landmark ruling which guaranteed women the right to an abortion in the US.
And in 2019, Swift outright revealed she was ‘obviously pro-choice.’
Prior to that, Swift had a long-held policy not to publicly share her political opinions.
In September 2004, Swift had recently arrived in Tennessee and signed a record deal with Sony/ATV.
She was performing in small Nashville venues, but didn’t get her real big break until 2005, when she signed with Big Machine Records.
By 2006, she’d released her first single, Tim McGraw, and began her meteoric rise to the top – where she remains today, 18 years later.
There are references to Swift being interviewed at Hendersonville High School in both 2005 and 2006, but there are no records of Swift being interviewed on camera at the school in 2004.
