Sombr Shares How He Deals With Hate After Getting Advice From Taylor Swift, the ‘Person I Look Up to Most’

Sombr knows more than most about how challenging it can be to become famous at a young age, but luckily, Taylor Swift has taken him under her wing.

In an interview with Elle published Tuesday (Sept. 22), the Gen Z singer-songwriter recalled the first time he heard that the Eras headliner had given him a shout-out. “Just waking up to hearing she name-dropped me on the radio, I was like, ‘Huh, is this AI?'” he told the publication.

“One of the best pieces of advice the legend has given me …,” he continued — at which point the interviewer tried to clarify that he was for sure referring to Swift.

“… the person I look up to most has given me,” sombr said in response. “The amazing pop star. Is that if these hate comments go away, maybe you’re not at your peak anymore. I think it’s a privilege to be receiving these and rise above it. Ever since she gave me that advice, it’s really changed my perspective and has helped.”

At just 21 years old, the hitmaker has dealt with his fair share of hate already. In October, he notably clapped back at a person who’d attended his concert and criticized his appearance and onstage demeanor in a viral TikTok. Calling out that the video had “started a massive body-shaming hate train directed towards me,” sombr added at the time, “You guys need to find problematic people to hate on, because I am just existing.”

In the months since, the New York native has found a friend in Swift, who gave him a shout-out in her Songwriters Hall of Fame induction speech after he’d paid tribute to her at the event with performances of “Dear John” and “Cardigan.”

“His writing is so exceptional that it makes me envious and I love that feeling,” the 14-time Grammy winner said at the time. “Sombr is the future — he does it all on his own and he doesn’t need that AI. The kids will be fine!”

“It was really her night, and she wanted me, out of all the people she could have asked, to perform two songs to help induct her,” sombr later said on The Tonight Show. “I was like, ‘Taylor, what songs do you want me to sing? You know, this is your night.’ And she was like, ‘No. You choose.’”