Taylor Swift, like the British Royal Family, leaves NOTHING up to chance.
So when the singer announces an upcoming new album and reveals several details about it ahead of its release, you'd better bet Swifties are deciphering the evidence like their lives depend on it.
We already know that the title The Tortured Poets Department is a thinly veiled reference to Swift's ex Joe Alwyn, who once said he and two other actors were in a WhatsApp group named the "tortured man club." (Sorry, but I'm trying so hard not to roll my eyes right now.......)
But, of course, that's not all: The album's planned release date, April 19, is another obvious reference to Alwyn, because eager fans noticed on April 19, 2023 that some of Swift's closest friends and family members all unfollowed Alwyn that day (a couple weeks after their breakup became public). Swift knows that fans worked this out, and therefore this is her way of speaking to them (us) directly.
A dedicated Swiftie made a TikTok about all of this in which they explained everything there is to know about "the great unfollowing of Joe Alwyn," including that all these unfollows happened after Swift had dinner with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds and Swift's brother Austin were among the people to unfollow Alwyn that day.
@eurosweetheart ♬ original sound - swiftiesweetheart
Amid all this *evidence*, Alwyn is reportedly not very happy with his ex. According to one source, he thinks that if this turns out to be a "diss album," that it's "shady" of Swift.
But as one Twitter user put it, "imagine telling Taylor Swift, the woman who wrote Red about a 3 month relationship, to shut up about a 6 year relationship..."
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My thoughts exactly.
imagine telling Taylor Swift, the woman who wrote Red about a 3 month relationship, to shut up about a 6 year relationship...February 6, 2024
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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