♪ on this stage if you are happy and you know it clap your hands ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight -- ♪ >> bad blood? taylor swift breaks her political silence and says it's personal. the pop princess fueling the nation's political clashes as the newest supreme court justice gets his ceremonial swearing-in. >> so help me, god. >> and one fan isn't singing swift's tune. >> let's say i like taylor's muse pick 25% less now. >> could this be teeing up another taylor/kanye feud on a very different stage? plus insta oasis. the instagram playgrounds now popping up. these creative installations becoming hives for influencers

and casual grammers that swatch these hot spots for a picture-perfect post. immersive art experience? or just savvy marketing? meghan mccain's emotional reunion. her first day back on "the view" following her dad senator john mccain's death. her message to viewers. first the "nightline 5." >> everything was so fresh in the beginning. but that plug quickly faded. luckily febreze plug cleans away odors and freshens for 24 hours. breathe happy with new febreze plug. new theraflu power pods. the cold and flu fighting machine you put in your machine. press the button to brew up powerful relief. to defeat your toughest gold and flu symptoms fast. new theraflu power pods. press, sip, relieve. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

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good evening. i'm linsey davis. tonight we begin with the latest mix of politics and showbiz. taylor swift going public with her political views for the very first time. deepening the divide that has been center stage with the bitter supreme court battle. the president clapping back at swift. but she isn't the first celebrity to weigh in politically. a look at the backlash and support for the stars. ♪ are you ready for it >> reporter: ready or not -- ♪ are you ready for it >> reporter: taylor swift is taking on politics. wading into unfamiliar waters. pitting the pop princess against the president. >> let's say that i like taylor's music about 25% less now, okay? ♪ what you made me do >> reporter: like her hit song "look what you made me do," swift explained in a lengthy instagram post sunday night she

felt she had to speak up. she wrote, in the past i've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, i feel very differently about that now." she says she's speaking now because "i believe in the fight for lgbtq rights and any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is wrong. i believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country toward people of color is terrifying, sickening, and prevalent." then the niceties were over. and the singer took aim at the senate race in her home state of tennessee. specifically the republican candidate. "as much as i have in the past and would like to continue vote for women in office i cannot support marcia blackburn. her voting record in congress appalls and terrifies me." blackburn is currently a member of congress in the house. >> it is striking to see a celebrity endorsement that goes into detail, doesn't just give a

slogan, gives an explanation. >> reporter: swift says blackburn voted against equal pay for women. she also disagrees with blackburn's stance against gay marriage and locations for lgbtq rights. "these are not my tennessee values." >> taylor swift has 112 million instagram followers. this is very taylor swift in that it was careful, it was considered, it was her controlling her own message. >> reporter: jo levy of "rolling stone" magazine says swift's public "me too" moment likely influenced her message. >> in real life she was talking about the one-year anniversary of a trial in a sexual assault case in which she was touched without her consent by a deejay. this has been an important issue for her. she's always been very clear about her support of women's rights. >> reporter: this year swift says she's throwing her support to democrats, including

blackburn's opponent, former tennessee governor bill brettison, who thanked swift on twitter. i'm honored to have your support and that of so many tennesseens who are ready to put aside partisan shouting and get things done. president trump was swift to disagree with the pop star's criticism. >> marcia blackburn is doing a very good job in tennessee. she's leading now substantially which she should. she's a tremendous woman. i'm sure taylor swift has nothing -- doesn't know anything about her. >> the fact that it's a fight is a bad sign for republicans. the fact that they have to play defense in places like tennessee tell you why that senate map is suddenly in play for democrats. >> reporter: and it seems swift's decision could leave some fans with bad blood. ♪ now we got bad blood >> i believe entertain shers keep it to themselves. >> reporter: we went to the center of the story, the heart of taylor swift country today, nashville. where people are both angry and elated. >> the fact that she was able to stand up and say what she

believed in was awesome. >> gimmick. >> reporter: we sat down with young republicans and young democrats for their takes on this new political taylor swift. >> i'm going to think about things like what's going to help me have a better job market when i graduate from law school. i don't concern myself with what national celebrities think about a topic. >> i can think of no better timing than something like this to energize left-leaning people, especially young people. >> what she said was so spot-on with -- kind of what's on the minds of a lot of us in tennessee. >> reporter: of course swift isn't the only music star to get political. >> we've been friends for a long time. >> reporter: sometime nemesis kanye west has been politically outspoken. some call this swift's chance to take back the mike. >> a lot of people on twitter, some people actually writing pieces in newspapers saying, gee, this is kanye versus taylor. listen, people. i know that you would like the

whole world to resemble professional wrestling. but only professional wrestling resembles professional wrestling. ♪ >> reporter: west appeared on "saturday night live" two weekends ago wearing a make america great again hat. the president expressed his appreciation for west during a rally this weekend. >> thank you, kanye west. >> reporter: the timing of swift's announcement comes just hours after the u.s. senate confirmed brett kavanaugh as the newest supreme court justice, despite allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. >> on this vote the ayes are 50, the nays are 48. >> reporter: a process that exposed just how angry and did divided the country's politics have become. tonight trump taking another victory lap. standing side by side with kavanaugh at his ceremonial swearing-in. >> those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation. not a campaign of political and personal destruction based on

lies and deception. >> shame, shame! >> reporter: wheel celebrities like alyssa milano and amy schumer proudly go public with politics, many stars are not so willing, like dolly parton. >> i'm not addressing that. i do not get into that. >> reporter: when we sat down with her earlier this year, she refused to talk politics at all. >> of course i have my opinion about everybody and everything. but i learned a long time ago, keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business. i'm not in politics, i'm an entertainer. ♪ landslide brought it down >> reporter: the dixie chicks know what it's like to be punished for getting political. in 2003, they triggered a landslide of criticism after saying they were ashamed then-president george w. bush was from their home state of texas. >> i think they should send her over to iraq, strap her to a bomb, drop her over baghdad. >> reporter: people responded by bulldozing dixie chick cds, boycotting concerts, blacklisting their music from the airwaves. it took years before the group

made a comeback. levy says swift won't suffer the same blowback. >> taylor swift is one of the biggest musicians in the world. she will be the subject of a great deal of disapproval and a great deal of scorn and much of it will be misogynist in general, and it will be ugly and disgraceful. and that will not hurt taylor swift's bottom line. >> reporter: swift's message appears to be especially targeting those younger fans, writing, "so many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count." >> a lot of the evidence suggests younger voters lean democratic. >> reporter: but rallying young voters is often an uphill battle. >> voters under 30 consistently in almost every election cycle voted at much lower rates than voters over 60. >> reporter: levy points out

celebrity endorsements have power, just not necessarily in politics. >> we need to be very careful. at its height popular culture and political engagement does not always decide american political elections. >> reporter: although in the age of social media, that could change. >> i rarely see a celebrity endorsement make a difference. we'll see if taylor swift has political coattails. >> taylor likes to speak for herself. she took her time. she picked her moment. this is it. >> reporter: swift now walking a delicate line. we may find out if she has any more to say, and soon. she's the opening act in this week's american music awards. next, the perfect setting for the perfect instagram. are these playgrounds just smart marketing? ♪

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social media feed, many instagram enthusiasts will do just about anything for the gram. now with these immersive art experiences, some are paying to play. these exhibits are sometimes political, always creative, and often branded by major companies. here's abc's ashen singh. >> reporter: we're in downtown brooklyn and i'm outside this warehouse which has been converted into 29 different rooms. ♪ a creative space tailor-made for ald by trendy

up-and-coming artists, brands, and celebrities under the theme of expanding your reality. t smells like cherries. immersive experience, "29 rooms." a new approach to creative installations in the digital age. >> everybody wants to be like a little insta famous. >> reporter: geared toward creating gorgeous content for your social feed. from the ball pit to the disco to these guys. fans are flocking, paying almost 40 bucks a pop for these picture-perfect backdrops that are sure to rack up the likes. it's a growing economy around instagram playgrounds. popups designed with the millennial mindset, like the museum of ice cream where you make snow angels with sprinkles, candytopia where you bring your sweet soothe to life. >> designed for instagram. colorful, well lit, small. take as much time as you need taking photos. >> reporter: last year the

company said they reached half of all instagram users worldwide, that's 400 million people. >> i think because of instagram visual culture, more of these types of events are popping up, more events that are going on that are thinking about what is our instagram moment? >> reporter: the space showcasing celebrity designers who created their own rooms like nicole richie. walk me through your creative process. it seems every little thing has been thought out. >> i need to represent california, where i'm from. i definitely want to represent the voices of the '70s. i knew what 29 rooms was because i saw it on instagram. i'm technically a millennial, did you know that? >> in my room at the refinery 29 >>ter: t "black-ish" star using her room for social activism, getting the vote out for her campaign "18 by 18." >> voter registration and voter education, figuring out how to register young voters, making sure we're armed with the information we need. >> do we think we're seeing a

shahidi for president any time soon? >> shahidi for think tank? yeah. >> reporter: another organization featured in 29 rooms, the aclu. their camera-ready space also has a message. >> instead of "the price is right," this is "know your rights." >> reporter: the spin on the classic game show. >> let's see what we've got! >> reporter: hosted by "dear white people" actress logan browning. >> dear white people, here's a list of acceptable halloween costumes. >> why is it important for organizations like the aclu to have representation here and have that sort of presence on social media? >> i just feel like people want to be involved, sometimes they don't know how to effect the change that they want to see . the aclu is a perfect organization to connect those dots for them. young people are the future. having a social media presence and a platform, to be able to connect to other people and other places, makes you feel that you matter more.

>> reporter: beyond the activism, about one-third of these rooms are sponsored by major brands like reebok and pantene. in addition to the artisan creators that help make a space like this possible you've got to make your money. they've partnered with about 10 brands like this, smirnoff, to create their own spaces for their own experiences with guests. >> nauertists are thinking about, how are people going to take photos of this, share it on the internet? friends want to be a part of that. >> reporter: despite the focus on instagram, 29 rooms' creative director piera says they're working to get guests to put their phones down, even for a moment. >> we have a couple of phones that are phone-free. we have a blindfolded experience that's meant to tap into your senses. we want to do both. we think that for a lot of people coming through here, they love taking pictures, but we also want to really get people to be present and to have an experience in real life too. >> reporter: one of the most popular rooms? created by singer kal ugis. ♪ would you be a tyrant if i

gave you power ♪ >> reporter: reflecting her newest album "it's saying" and national pride. >> colors red, yellow, blue? >> primary colors, also the colombian flag colors. it's important for us never to forget our culture, our roots. >> a celebration of culture, art, activism. the question still remains, what exactly are these spaces like 29 rooms? are they immersive art? marketing cash cows? or literal instagram exhibits spoon feeding content for our insatiable appetite for social media? it seems like all the above. and they're definitely the future. for "nightline," i'm ashen singh in a warehouse in brooklyn. next, meghan mccain's powerful reunion with her costars on "the view." ♪

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it was her first time on the show following her father, senator john mccain's, death back in august. her emotional plea reflecting the message in his final good-bye. >> my father's final farewell address, he said, we're americans and we never surrender. that's how i feel. we can never surrender to what is happening in the country right now. i understand how divided and how scared a lot of people are and that it looks like the fabric of democracy is fraying. we do not surrender. i'm not surrendering. you don't do it either. so you have to join me in not surrendering, okay? because i'm still here fighting and i want all of you to fight with me. >> mccain thanked her cohosts for their support and says their friendships transcend their political differences. i'll have more on meghan in the morning on gma. thanks so much for watching "nightline." good night, america.