How Elizabeth Taylor’s Son Really Feels About That Taylor Swift Song—and Why He Thinks They’re ‘Kindred Spirits’ (Exclusive)

Christopher Wilding was as surprised as anyone when he learned the new Taylor Swift album featured a song about his mom, Elizabeth Taylor.

Swift’s references on the second track of her album The Life of a Showgirl to violet eyes, Portofino and White Diamonds, the star’s signature scent, were “especially magical,” he says.

Wilding, 70, the second son of Taylor and her second husband, British actor Michael Wilding, listened to the track “the day it became available,” he says.

“She and my mom do seem like kindred spirits. They are both the very embodiment of female empowerment,” he says. “The way [Swift] has deftly captured the similarities and parallel tracks in their careers and personal lives is delightful.”

A force so fierce that 14 years after her death on March 23, 2011, at age 79 from congestive heart failure, Hollywood’s last great star has become a touchstone for a new generation.

A three-part docuseries Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar (now on Fox Nation and executive-produced by Kim Kardashian) features unheard tapes and sheds new light on the provocative beauty, who married eight times (to seven different men) and, as her goddaughter Paris Jackson notes, “had a bad-ass approach to life.”

When her affair with Richard Burton caused the Vatican to charge Taylor with “erotic vagrancy,” she just charged ahead, a trail of paparazzi, Louis Vuitton luggage and small dogs behind her. The series calls her “the first reality star.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Of her proud rebellious streak, her son says, “She was never cowed by the establishment whenever it criticized or condemned her lifestyle, which was often. Believe it or not, she had a strong moral compass and she made her choices in alignment with it, even when she knew they might not be popular. She was curious, open-minded and lived life on her own terms until the day she died.”

Her passion and fight on behalf of people with AIDS, (she founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991) made her legend even larger. “Her tireless work on behalf of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS carries on through the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation,” says her son.

Now the House of Taylor, which is run by her official estate, is “thrilled” with the nod from the other Taylor. They’ve just released “showgirl” themed products, including a Swift-inspired orange sweatshirt and a limited-edition violet eyes T-shirt. (All products, including the bestselling perfume, White Diamonds, donate a portion of proceeds back to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.)

Her son Christopher reflects, “Her life has been lived and her time in the spotlight is now over, but I hope that who my mother was as a person and the fearless life she led will continue to inspire generations to come.”

As it has for Swift. “Even as I believe my mother was for hers, Taylor Swift is an inspirational role model for her generation,” he says. “Her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights as well as her philanthropic work would have garnered her great admiration from my mother had they had a chance to get to know one another.”

For more on Elizabeth Taylor and the new docuseries, pick up a copy of this week’s PEOPLE.