David Crowe, a 33-year-old man, was spotted outside of pop singer Taylor Swift’s New York apartment by her security. It was not until the man began harassing people on the street that Swift’s security team called the police to have him arrested. Luckily, Swift was not home at the time of the incident, but Swift’s absence did not deter Crowe, because he continued to show up three times in one week.
Crowe was arrested during each visit, brought off Swift’s property and immediately released by law enforcement. Crowe was often found yelling at Swift’s security, rummaging through her garbage bins and attempting to open her front door. Yet, after every arrest, he was released without bail.
“The right form of punishment would probably be jail time plus rehabilitation for whatever they are going through, as well as added on time for repeat offenders,” said Rory McInnis, a sophomore criminal justice major.
This string of incidents is nowhere near out of the ordinary for Crowe, as he has visited Swift’s apartment over 30 times since November 2023 and has been released every time he was arrested. Unfortunately, this is not Swift’s first time dealing with stalkers either. In 2018, a man broke into her apartment, took a shower and fell asleep in one of her beds. In 2022, there was a man who ran his car into one of her apartments as well.
“Stalking situations like this one with repeat offenders should swiftly put the stalker in jail to help protect the victims,” said Syndey Shattuck, a senior psychology major. “Maybe even a list similar to a sex offender list should be considered for stalkers to register on.”
While access to celebrities’ personal lives has been hugely amplified due to social media, this is not the first time we have seen crazed fans push boundaries.
When Elvis Presley was in his prime, fans would line up outside the gates of his home, “Graceland,” and would wait for him to come to talk to them. Beatles member John Lennon and Latina pop singer Selena Quintanilla were both murdered by crazed fans as well. Their murderers were locked away and given a life sentence without parole. This is a different scenario than Swift’s situation, but had these infiltrators not been caught, her situation could have been even more dangerous.
“It is easy for obsessive people to be desensitized to the idea of celebrities being normal people just like you and me,” said Marlee Jackson, a sophomore nursing major.
With the ability to see a celebrity’s every move through social media, it has become a dangerous game of pushing boundaries to see how close a person can get to them, especially for Swift, who is gaining more and more attention daily.
Stalking is not a new crime, and instances like this have shown it is still relevant today. Those in support of Swift have shown their love through the hashtag “#ProtectTaylorSwift,” and her team has been keeping a close watch on all of her properties since the incidents occurred.
