#also joe alwyn it's on sight

[kittyinhighheels]

Me before listening to TTPD: This is a breakup album and I'm in a happy relationship I don't think this is going to hit me as much as the other ones

Me actually listening to TTPD:

[cursed-man-prayers]

What are your thoughts on the lavender haze video? I love your analyses and would love your take on all the bearding discourse. I felt like she was being truly loud as hell

Lavender Haze as a song didn’t really stick out to me until I watched the video.

My main theory starts with the lesbian sweater.

I had forgotten that it was in the teaser we saw before the album came out, and it was so jarring to see if when the only notable color she’d worn throughout the video was lavender (obviously).

At the start of the party scene, it’s not obvious what she’s wearing. Her and Laith’s arms are covering the sweater.

Taylor reaches up to touch Laith’s hair, revealing the sweater. Around them is a crowd, some of whom are taking photos. She dances with Laith, still wearing the shirt, in a literal lavender haze. At the 2:42 time stamp, the shots flicker rapidly back and forth to foggier shots. We also see shots of women dancing with each other.

I think this scene represents how Taylor surrounds herself with queer people (see: Eras Tour openers), flags loudly (see: the sweater), and references queer history (see: lavender), but just the *thinnest* veil of hetero still prevents most people from seeing her as queer. They see one photo of her standing near Joe Alwyn and are convinced.

Then there’s a fairly hard cut to Taylor alone in the room the video started in. She’s still wearing the sweater, which is interesting because, in the rest of the video, each setting came with a different outfit.

The lavender gray t-shirt. the fluffy coat thing, the slip, and redacted. When she’s in the room with Laith, she’s wearing what’s essentially a muted lavender shirt. Then she smokes, crawls through, and swims in vibrant lavender. It would almost make more sense if the progression of vibrance gave us the lavender-est outfit during the party scene, but it’s a cold switch to warm colors, and the warm (lesbian) colors stick around when she’s alone in the room.

She’s wearing it when she opens the curtains and pushes down the walls. Alone, she can be who she is (queer), but it comes at the price of being alone in an enormous fishbowl (see: Lover mv). There’s no one there with her anymore.

She falls asleep on the cloud that, from earlier, we know represents her melancholia (which is basically an archaic way of saying depression). She covers herself with the cloud, submerging into it, and the cloud evaporates. She disappears. She has lost herself to the sadness, the melancholia, the depression.

(also, the cloud is bi flag colors. I honestly am not sure what I think is the meaning of that while she’s also wearing the lesbian sweater mshsbdhs)

tl;dr: Taylor starts off in bed with a man, lying awake, staring at the ceiling while he is fully asleep next to her. While she sits up, he is oblivious to the cloud (depression, mental illness generally). Taylor smokes the lavender haze strain of weed and progresses through various stages of lavender, including a sexy little baptism, and then at the party she wears the lesbian sweater. People take pictures of her with a man, a veil between the public and her queerness. She’s hiding in plain sight. Alone, she is able to be herself, but has to lie in her bed of secrets and sadness. No one is in the fishbowl with her.

alt: lavender haze mv is about weed and only about weed

[anadrenalineslut]

maroon is still gay to me because the lyrics are superficially queer.

the lips were scarlet.

that's a woman baby.

i do think she purposely made midnights sound like its about her past lives to hide the fact that it was very much about her current relationship as well.

midnights WAS the joe alwyn break up album. it was hiding in plain sight. she was going to burn it down because she was already working with ratty by the point "professionally" this album was one last attempt to get joe to see that before moving on to ratty.

maroon is gay and its also about joe alwyn.

[lcndonboysstuff]

Well, Joseph. If that sighting is true from DM, he has my interest! Working with Lorene Scafaria would be a great move on his part. I’m fairly certain that PR agencies use DM to throw out things like this to get people going 🤔 so feels like there’s something there because as much as I love Joe - how many people are going to be at a dark bar in Studio City saying, that’s Joe Alwyn and Lorene Scafaria! I know her work, but couldn’t tell you what she looks like. Even after the Bo Burnham and Phoebe Bridgers drama.

I just spent 5 minutes looking to see what she is up to and she is doing The Bee Gees biopic. Also rumours of Hustlers 2. I’m intrigued.

yeah that’s what made me sure it’s real cuz who would make up a lie about Joe and Lorene lol. if it was done by one of their agencies does that mean we can hope to hear something soon? (assuming it’s a work thing)

well hopefully something other than those two cuz those don’t interest me that much, but honestly i’ll take anything at this point.. as long as it’s good

[littlemissidontcare]

oh definitely. Also, I've noticed sometimes these 'spottings' come in clusters. Like there will be several sightings etc. of a specific celeb for a week or two, and then nothing. Several in a way that feels very unnatural... it's fascinating// Agreed. Taylor/Travis went public recently, people obviously started bringing up Taylor's ex Joe Alwyn. And bam! few Joe Alwyn sightings in today's Sunday Spotted 😂 it's all very obvious. Publicists stay parked in DeuxMoi's DMs.

[path-of-my-childhood]

[Excerpts]

For New Year's Eve, the famous couple took a romantic getaway to the Maldives, where they spent some time on the beach, listened to live music and had a low-key night. Here’s what Matthew Crane, who performed in front of the celebrity pair during the holiday, had to say:

“It was a fantastic night, and there were many different guests there throughout the event. I sang at the front of the beach, on the jetty, where the guests arrived for about an hour and a half there. Later on, all the guests left for the main event that was on the other side of the island. There was a big stage and it had lots of different food. That's where the guests were for the party area, and I sang on the main stage for another 15-20 minutes from there. 

They were the last group to arrive, so there was no one else on the jetty. I saw this pretty, pretty couple and their friends, and as she walked up from where she got off the boat, I realized who she was — it was Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn. She was in a really pretty black sequins dress that went down to her knees. Joe was wearing a nice collared shirt with shorts or trousers. Because they were on an island, there was a lot of people wearing smart-casual clothes. And they were on holiday with their friends, on a private holiday. 

I sang a lot of different songs when they heard me, but it was when I finished singing that they actually stood up and clapped. And they both said simultaneously, "You've got an amazing voice, that was really good. Well done to you." And then they walked off to the main event, which was on the other part of the island. And sang a bit later, and Taylor's best friend, Abigail [Anderson Lucier], came up to me and said, "How does that voice come out of that small, young body of yours." She told me I was brilliant and she shook my hand.”

Excerpts from Hollywood Life interview with Matthew Crane:

“I was hired by an agency to perform at the resort on New Year’s Eve, and Taylor and Joe were staying at the resort as guests. It was by chance that I met them and sung to them. I was singing on the beach (on the sand overlooking the sunset) and the guests would arrive by boat as I was singing. Taylor, Joe and her friends arrived last. Taylor and Joe were there with their friends having a private holiday. I performed for 1 hour and 45 minutes overall. Taylor, Joe and her friends were there for the last 40 minutes of my set. They both said, ‘You seriously have an amazing, powerful voice, keep going, you will go far.’ They both gave me a standing ovation when I sung my last song, ‘Let Me Try Again’ by Frank Sinatra. They were so kind and so sweet.

They were holding hands, laughing, chatting, sometimes looked at each other lovingly and appeared very much in love. They were sitting at a bench table while I was singing, and they were eating, drinking and chatting. Taylor was wearing a beautiful sequin knee-length black dress which covered her arms, with no shoes. Joe was wearing a white shirt and dark navy cotton trousers/pants. I was there when Taylor and Joe were present as the countdown to midnight happened. There were fireworks in the distance. Taylor, Joe and her friends were upstairs at the VIP rooftop bar, dancing and enjoying the night until 1am in the morning when they left. Taylor and Joe were walking around the main event at South Beach where they were enjoying the different delicacies and cuisines that were in different stalls, including Thai, English, Italian and French food.”

[youareinlovees]

Taylor and Joe in 2019 

January 2nd – Joe is seen leaving Taylor’s Tribeca apartment. (x)

January 6th – They both attend the Golden Globes in LA.

“While Taylor presented, Joe watched the teleprompter near him and smiled and [his The Favourite costar] Nicholas Hoult patted him on the back. After Gaga walked on stage, Joe shifted his gaze to the stage near Taylor. She was smiling at him while she walked off the stage. She looked over her shoulder and gave a sassy cute little smile at his table’s direction.” 

(via US Weekly)

January 6th – An ET reporter asks Joe if he and Taylor would ever work together. (x)

“It’s not planned at the moment but who knows.”

“Swift joined Alwyn at Fox’s party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The instant she entered the event, the “Gorgeous” singer made a beeline for The Favourite star, putting her head on his shoulder and hand on his chest. Swift didn’t leave Alwyn’s side, posing for photos and chatting with Alwyn’s co-star, Nicholas Hoult, as she kept her hand around Alwyn’s waist. At the end of the evening, the two exited through the back of the venue and away from the crowds.” 

(via Entertainment Tonight)

FOX Post Show Celebration was also one of the starriest, with The Favourite cast holding court at their table and having a ball throughout the night. Big winner Olivia Colman was seen taking shots with Joe Alwyn, who was accompanied by girlfriend Taylor Swift the whole night. 

The Grammy winner cheered on the cast as they took the shots and was affectionate with her beau throughout the celebration. The ultra-private couple was spotted kissing and cozying up at their table along with Alwyn’s Favourite costar Emma Stone and her Saturday Night Live writer boyfriend Dave McCary. 

(via PEOPLE)

CAA party: Alwyn and Swift made a brief appearance around 1 a.m. Security swarmed them,” the source says. “They sat in a couch at a table with their drinks in the back of the party and were talking with several people. They looked at each other a few times and it seemed like Joe was trying to make sure she was OK and gauge when she wanted to leave. They were then escorted out of a private exit together.”

(via E Online)

Video of them arriving at one of the afterparties.

February 8th – Taylor and Joe are spotted leaving The Spaniards Inn in Hampstead, London. (x)

February 9th – They’re seen walking around in Notting Hill.

February 10th – Taylor skips the Grammys and attends several BAFTA afterparties with Joe instead. (x) (x)

Taylor Swift spotted caressing Joe Alwyn after sneaking into BAFTA dinner (x)

Determined to keep a low profile, Taylor swerved the main event at the Royal Albert Hall attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and headed straight to the exclusive dinner at the swanky Grosvenor Hotel on Park Lane.

“Taylor and Joe spent most of the evening in the middle of the room near the head table and based on table 68. They were chatting to colleagues but Taylor didn’t hide her affection towards Joe. She was seen caressing his back as they chatted away to a pal. It was clear they were an item but Taylor appeared conscious not to make a big deal about her appearance - she was just there for a good time rather than working like she would have to at the Grammys. Taylor didn’t leave Joe’s side all evening.”

Keen to keep a memento from the night, Taylor was seen taking home two pottery rabbit table decorations from her table. 

Taylor talked to a Grazia reporter about The Favourite and how proud she was of him. (x)

While Grazia chatted to Joe about working with Olivia Colman (‘She was amazing,’ he gushed), Taylor appeared and gave him a congratulatory squeeze. ‘I was watching the show from home,’ she told us. ‘Every time The Favourite won another award, I was just squealing! I couldn’t believe it,’ she continued. ‘It’s so great for him – and it’s his first time coming to the BAFTAs, so it’s exciting. It’s a big deal.’ The singer, who is currently filming Cats, added how ‘proud’ she was of Joe’s success. 

They were seen leaving the Vogue / Tiffany & Co afterparty. (video) (x)

February 12th – In an interview with ET, Rebel Wilson is asked whether she’s seen Joe on the set of CATS. (x)

“I haven’t! I have met him, but not on set.” 

February 22nd – Taylor and Joe attend the CAA Oscars pre-party in West Hollywood. (x)

February 23rd – The Mirror publishes an article about Olivia Colman and Taylor becoming friends through Joe. (x)

A source revealed: “After the Baftas Taylor sang up a storm with Olivia Colman, Joe and Melissa McCarthy too at a London hotel. They had their own room and Olivia and Taylor were behaving like best buddies.Taylor thinks Olivia is amazing, she loves her and the sing song wasn’t a one off.” The insider added: “They have already made plans for Oscar week. They’re going to have a rerun of the karaoke night and Olivia has even been to Taylor and Joe’s LA home too.”

February 24th – Taylor and Joe hang out with Martha, Camila Cabello and Matthew Hussey at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty.

Video of them at the Fox afterparty.

“Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance with her boyfriend, The Favourite star Joe Alwyn. As the party wound down, Swift and Alwyn were overheard contemplating late-night karaoke with Alwyn’s co-star Nicholas Hoult.”

(via Vanity Fair)

February 25th – Joe posts a photo taken in Taylor’s LA house.

March 3rd – Taylor and Joe are seen hiking together in the Santa Monica mountains. (video) 

A picture he took of her is later included in the Lover photoshoot. (x)

March 6th – Taylor drops an ELLE article titled “30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30.″ (x)

How to fight fair with the ones you love. Chances are you’re not trying to hurt the person you love and they aren’t trying to hurt you. If you can wind the tension of an argument down to a conversation about where the other person is coming from, there’s a greater chance you can remove the shame of losing a fight for one of you and the ego boost of the one who “won” the fight. I know a couple who, in the thick of a fight, say “Hey, same team.” Find a way to defuse the anger that can spiral out of control and make you lose sight of the good things you two have built. They don’t give out awards for winning the most fights in your relationship. They just give out divorce papers.

Apologizing when you have hurt someone who really matters to you takes nothing away from you. Even if it was unintentional, it’s so easy to just apologize and move on. Try not to say “I’m sorry, but...” and make excuses for yourself. Learn how to make a sincere apology, and you can avoid breaking down the trust in your friendships and relationships.

For too long, the projected opinions of strangers affected how I viewed my relationships. Whether it was the general internet consensus of who would be right for me, or what they thought was “couples goals” based on a picture I posted on Instagram. That stuff isn’t real. For an approval seeker like me, it was an important lesson for me to learn to have my OWN value system of what I actually want.

Playing mind games is for the chase. In a real relationship or friendship, you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t tell the other person how you feel, and what could be done to fix it. No one is a mind reader. If someone really loves you, they want you to verbalize how you feel. This is real life, not chess.

April 17th – Emma Roberts and Garrett Hedlund (Joe’s Billy Lynn co-star) visit Joe and Taylor at their LA place. (x)

April 24th – Taylor sends @/daylightanna – a family friend of the Alwyns – reputation merch and a signed photo for her birthday. (x)

April 26th – Taylor posts a video of her cat Benjamin Button, and Joe’s hand is clearly visible at the start of the clip. (x)

April 30th – In the ME! behind the scenes video where Taylor meets Benji, she says she has to “get on the phone” before she can adopt him. (x)

May 1st – In an interview with iHeartRadio Canada, Taylor is asked about how she chose Benji’s name. (x)

What made you decide to go with the name Benjamin Button?

I really liked the movie Benjamin Button.

Okay, that’s a good answer.

And Benjamin Button in the movies is such a good guy, you know? He’s always doing the right thing.

May 2nd – The day after the BBMAs, Taylor leaves Las Vegas for London.

May 4th – Taylor is seen in Notting Hill (again).

May 15th – Taylor is interviewed on The Ellen Show, and at one point Ellen says to the audience, “We have to take a break, and then uh, we’re gonna come back and she’s gonna talk all about her boyfriend!” (video)

May 21st – Taylor leaves LA for London, and then she and Joe fly to France the next day.

May 24th – Taylor and Joe are seen out in Paris together. (x)

They visit the Pont Neuf Bridge and the Square du Vert-Galant, where scenes from the Begin Again music video were filmed.

They also went to the Grand Palais on the same trip.

Joe posts these photos that Taylor took. 

May 25th – In an interview with NRJ Paris, Taylor was asked what she would do if her boyfriend forgot her birthday. (x)

“Wouldn’t happen. I don’t know how to react to something that is an impossibility. I’m so loud about my birthday, you couldn���t miss it.”

May 25th – Taylor likes and reblogs this chain post.

May 26th – Taylor posts photos from her hotel room that Joe most likely took.

May 31st – Taylor and Joe go on a double date with Rob Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse at San Vicente Bungalows in LA. (x)

The San Vicente Bungalows is an exclusive members-only club and has a "no phones, no pictures, no social media, no talking about other members-policy." So it truly is the perfect place for two private couples to have a double date out.

Other people still saw Swift, Alwyn, Pattinson, and Waterhouse, and one onlooker told Us Weekly that the date happened. It was good fun. "The four were laughing and talking" all night, the onlooker said. "They were at a table, just the four of them. Rob and Taylor were across from each other."

June 12th – Katy Perry posts a photo from Taylor’s place, and a blurry polaroid of Joe and Benji can be seen in the corner.

June 19th – Taylor leaves NYC and flies to London.

June 27th – Taylor films the BBC Children In Need documentary and says she got involved because Olivia Colman reached out to Joe.

(via taylorswifth)

Olivia talks about how she managed to get Taylor to show up and surprise Shaun. (x)

“Taylor Swift goes out with a very lovely fella, Joe Alwyn, who I did a job with. And I did a very cheeky text at him and went, ‘Do you think Taylor will come along and surprise Shaun Dooley?’”

June 29th – kingkeir tweets about Taylor renting a place near London Zoo.

July 2nd – Taylor, Martha, Ashley and the HAIM sisters go on vacation to the St Thomas Virgin Islands. (x)

July 6th – Joe finishes filming A Christmas Carol, the same day Taylor and her friends are papped flying back to the US. They presumably meet up in New York the next day.

July 10th – Taylor performs at the Amazon Prime Day Concert in NYC. Throughout the show–and especially during Delicate–she kept looking and pointing at Joe, who was sitting in the soundbooth. (video)

In Ashley’s IG story, Gigi says “Taylor can’t stop looking at him!” and she replies “here text him!” (video)

July 11th – The day after the Prime Concert, they fly from NYC to London.

July 13th – Taylor and Joe were reportedly seen at Starbucks in Muswell Hill.

July 16th – In a radio interview with KIIS 1065, Katy Perry talks about ending her feud with Taylor. (x)

“I started seeing her around at like the Oscar parties when she was accompanying her boyfriend and I just went up to her and I was like 'hey, you know it's been a long time and I think we've grown up a little bit and I just wanted to say I'm sorry.”

July 18th – Taylor and Joe fly to Manchester, and it’s pretty likely that this photo (posted on July 26) was from this trip, because it was taken at the Peak District and that’s an hour long drive from Manchester.

July 20th – Joe and Taylor arrive in LA.

July 24th – Taylor likes this post. 

July 23rd – Taylor films the Lover music video in LA. Joe and Andrea are seen sitting together on set. (x)

July 25th – Riley Knoxx posts a vlog on her YouTube channel about her experience of being in the YNTCD video. She talks about her conversations with Taylor on-set, and how Taylor showed her photos of her with Joe. (x)

“We talked about everything, from whether we want kids or not, [Taylor] showed me videos of her cats and her boyfriend, who she’s rarely seen with, but she’s showing me, you know, the pictures.”

July 30th – In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Rebel Wilson is asked whether she got some dating tips from Taylor while they were filming CATS. (x)

“She’s in a pretty committed relationship now, so it didn’t really come up.”

August 2nd – London secret sessions are held.

Taylor name dropped Joe when explaining Cruel Summer, confirming that it’s about him. (x)

She also talks to theirgetawaycar about spending Christmas in Ireland, which stacks because we know she spent the holidays with Joe and their families at Glin Castle.

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2016 // 2017 // 2018 // 2020 // 2021

[bisluthq]

I’m sorry that sighting could be true but it could also be an anon from here looking to plant some break up seeds in peoples inboxes. Like it’s not far fetched with this fandom 😭

This is what I’m saying like I feel like I personally know of people who’d make it up. There are no pics and it’s weird tbh he’d be alone at all 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ like what would be a better sighting is “Joe Alwyn with group of friends at The Bull in Highgate. Group talking animatedly and laughing a lot. No Taylor. Anon pls” - like that I’d be like “weird thing to make up”.

“Joe Alwyn walking solo on Hampstead Heath” sounds like someone who wanted to like… get a receipt… and KEEP HIM AWAY FROM HER.

[chcrrysprite]

More more more: 24, 37, and for 68 EXPLAIN IN DETAIL WHY

OK OK OK!

24.) What do you want right this second? a certain "hey" text and for my stomach to stop hurting 😫

37.) Do you believe in love at first sight? i know it sounds corny, but on some level...yes. i say "on some level" because i don't think that you can necessarily fall in love with someone fully just by looking at them, but the first guy i was ever in love with was the first person i ever looked at and knew they were going to end up important to me in some way. it wasn't like i just,,, fell in love with him right there, but after a couple of weeks of just small talk, there were two random days that he sat down next to me and we really talked and i was gone that quickly, just like i knew i would be. he fuckin Sucked once the fairytale wore off (i've talked about him before) and i fully Regret looking at him the first time, and it is a Long Ass Story when it comes to that, but anyways...yeah. kind of. it's more of an importance thing than a love thing for me when i get that feeling about someone from the very beginning, but i think it goes along the same lines.

68.) Favorite Taylor Swift song? cruel fucking question!!!!!!! i think that i've listened to literally every single one of them. how the hell am i supposed to just,,, pick one. i have to give you the top from each album. i'm not sorry because you Invited me to talk "IN DETAIL" about taylor swift and anybody should know that's a dangerous thing to ask me to do. 1.) "Teardrops On My Guitar" because it reminds me of being a kid and watching that music video over and over again. that and Our Song were the only two songs I ever listened to off of her debut album until literally like, two weeks ago because it's the most country out of all of them and that's usually not my taste. I make an exception for her. 2.) "You All Over Me" because i am a Slut for sad songs and i fuckin love the way she sings it. it tells the story of trying to move on but still being stuck. 3.) "Last Kiss" because it's another sad one that goes slow until one of the last verses hit: so i'll watch your life in pictures like i used to watch you sleep / and i feel you forget me like i used to feel you breathe / and i keep up with our old friends jut to ask them how you are. 4.) "Treacherous" because it just has,,, SUCH strong wlw vibes and i can't even explain why because i know that it's probably not Intended to be that way and there are So Many Other Gayer songs that she's written, but like. damn. the lyrics are also So Good and it's such an underrated track. 5.) "You Are In Love" is just such a pure representation of what love feels like. i eventually want to write a fic based off of it. until somebody makes me feel what that song claims love feels like i Do Not Want It. 6.) "Dress" is also just...so gay even though i know for a Fact that it isn't LMFAOO. big "in love with your best friend" vibes. ik she wrote it about joe alwyn and good for her but like....girl.... 7.) It's a cross between "Lover" or "The Archer" off of Lover. this was one of the last albums of hers' i listened to when i was getting caught up because it seemed too cutesy but it's one of my favs now. Lover could be my first dance song honestly, and The Archer just gives off such Strong Theo vibes. 8.) "august" or "cardigan" off of folklore. they're two parts of a three-song story (the third installment being betty), that tells the tale of a fictional love triangle. cardigan is from betty's perspective, the girl who was cheated on. august is from augustine's perspective, the girl who betty's partner cheated on her with. betty is from james's point of view, the cheater. cardigan is just such a beautiful song and i relate to august more than i care to admit. 9.) FINALLY, "tolerate it." this one was a tie too, but it's just so OPPRESSIVELY sad and is sung from the point of view of someone who feels that their love is only tolerated, and i love it.

remember man....you asked for all that by asking that question. no fuckin way i could just choose one.

thank you for the ridiculously long-answered ask :)

[karliesbuzzcut]

I don’t talk much about other blogs that aren’t TTB or IWHM anymore - so while this next post wasn’t written by either, it was reblogged by TTB. And also (and maybe more importantly?) the author seems to genuinely be asking for answers from an anti (I hate the term but I understand we all need to live under a banner of some kind).

Here’s the original post (I’m warning you all, it’s a bit long - and I’m predicting an equally long response, so hopefully you brought a snack).

My answer to your 49 points can be conveniently condensed into one bullet point:

🤷‍♀️

Don’t get me wrong. I can continue the game. I can give you answers like “dark jeans and Nike’s are white boys’ uniform” or “the UK is full of different accents, so the fact that Taylor is used to some regional accents, doesn’t mean that she is used to all of them”. Then, I could ask my own rehashed questions like “what about the multiple sightings of Joe and Taylor in the wild?”, “why does Taylor keep singing about her lover’s brother?” And even add new ones to keep things fresh, like “Why did Karlie spend Jewish holidays with the Kushners?” Or “isn’t weird that Taylor’s jet has recently flown to London just in time for the 28th of September - date we know is significant to her, while Karlie has been photographed in NY?”

... And you’d have answers for that. I’m guessing something like “you can’t believe people who claim to have seen them together”, “Karlie called Derek her brother on twitter once”, “that’s how bearding works” or “that’s what Taylor wants you to believe”.

But all we would be doing -you and me- is 🤷‍♀️ and then proceed to give our best guesses according to our understanding of things.

After all, those 49 bullet points are just a list of 49 things you don’t know or aren’t sure about Taylor or her lyrics. And this isn’t me throwing shade. I’m not Taylor so I’m not going to pretend I know her or understand her better than anyone else.

... and it’s somewhere here where I think our approach to this subject might differ. If Taylor were to answer whichever of these points you brought up, I’d probably believe her. Whether her answers point to her being with Joe or to him just being a beard and her being in a polyamorous relationship with Josh and Karlie.

However, I get the feeling (and do please correct me if I’m wrong) that if Taylor were to answer you any of these questions in a way that she implies (or even states) she’s with Joe, you wouldn’t trust her answers. Am I wrong to think that? I mean, the whole thesis around Kaylor is that Taylor is an unreliable source. Right?

Now, it’s not that I believe Taylor is incapable of telling a lie or that she doesn’t have reasons to keep information to herself. It’s just that I don’t think I’d be able to get better answers unless I hack her phone or put mics inside her houses. Meaning, I don’t think anyone is able to get valid answers about Taylor’s life by analysing pictures of her holding hands with someone else or by giving our subjective interpretation of her art. So it will always feel as a very big reach to draw a conclusion so drastically different to the “established narrative”.

Because Taylor being with Joe is the established narrative, right? You could argue that Taylor saying that she isn’t part of the community simply meant that she isn’t a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer woman. Or that she isn’t the one bringing up Joe’s name during interviews; or that when she has in fact talked about her boyfriend, she hasn’t said “Joe Alwyn, my boyfriend”. You could argue all of that, but I don’t think I’ve met a Kaylor who would disagree that Taylor is– at the very least –trying to appear as if she’s dating Joe. So that is the established narrative.

You start your post by saying that it’s your turn to ask questions. Unfortunately, by being against the established narrative, you have put yourself in a position where it will never be your turn to demand answers from us. Because people like me have acknowledged that we won’t be able to get answers better than the ones Taylor gives us. We simply do not have the means to get better answers or maybe we think it’s not our place to dig for better answers. So if she says she has a boyfriend: she has a boyfriend. If at some point things don’t add up? Well, then maybe we are missing some information but she still has a boyfriend.

Kaylors, however, have entered this discussion by claiming to understand Taylor better than other fans. Claiming to know when she’s hiding something and when she’s being trustworthy. So if you go around announcing that you know who Taylor is truly dating and it isn’t the person Taylor (the authority on the matter) is saying that she’s dating then -of course- people are going to ask you: “how did you get to that conclusion?” “Have you tried looking for those same patterns with all of Taylor’s friends or only with Karlie?”, “If no one would’ve pointed Kaylor to you, would you’ve reached the same conclusion on your own?” “Why are you trusting someone on the internet more than you trust Taylor herself?”

Going against what the establishment tells us can be very empowering and even commendable, because a lot of the times it’s about sticking the middle finger to archaic ideas like the patriarchy, racism, social classism, or in this case, heteronormativity. But we might want to know how and when to pick our battles because the private life of a famous pop star ain’t it*.

[that-thing-that-feeling]

Do you have any excerpts from the reviews of sp2 that require payment in the US to read? If so, can you share any comments on Charlie’s part? (BFI, The Telegraph, etc)

Hey sure! I linked to the times uk one bc someone asked for it but it wasn’t good and didn’t mention Charlie. Which BFI one—sight and sound or something else? I’ll put the whole telegraph one behind the cut—it’s a fun, descriptive review that loves the film, but it only has one line on Charlie in it (“animalistic one night stand”), altho it does talk abt Patrick’s film. Anyway here it is behind the cut (does have spoilers from part one):

How much can art ever help us heal? There’s no straightforward answer to that question, which is why The Souvenir: Part II never stops posing it, readjusting the viewfinder, and switching angles. A British heavy-hitter in Cannes, this sequel to Joanna Hogg’s cinematic memoir of two years ago has a dizzyingly playful and prismatic quality. For a film overshadowed by terrible loss, it’s remarkably elating and light on its feet – at once a comedy of filmmaking egos, a multi-layered exercise in creative therapy, and a grippingly honest confessional.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Part II is its sheer buoyancy as a companion piece, springing off the earlier film’s strengths and finding ways to circle back, to reconsider and even critique them. Where Part I had a shimmering poignancy as a tragic love story, this is busy and dazzling: Hogg has never made a funnier piece of work or come to us with such fresh provocations.

As we neared the end of the 1980s in Part I, film student Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) was confronted with the shock of her young life, as her boyfriend Anthony (Tom Burke) was found dead from a heroin overdose in the Wallace Collection’s toilet, having concealed the extent of his addiction from her over several years. Part II picks straight up from there, with a bedridden Julie wasting away in the Norfolk stronghold of her parents, played by Byrne's real-life mother Tilda Swinton and a brilliantly cast unknown, one James Spencer Ashworth, whose droll incomprehension typifies Hogg's deft touch with both seasoned actors and brand new ones.

While those two struggle to find the right things to say, Julie herself becomes preoccupied with what, artistically speaking, is worth saying. The main thrust becomes her determination to make a graduation film, which she decides to craft as a kind of memorial to Anthony. This project is so tentative, elusive and personal that it’s regarded with hostile bafflement by the supervisors on her course, who can’t find any through-line with her previous aesthetic and brutally retract their support.

Hogg’s satirical eye on film-school foibles is beadier than ever in such scenes, but there’s a touching esprit de corps among the student body, who may not always understand each other’s work but rally to help as far as they can. Julie, fumbling towards her vision, lacks experience, and the patience of everyone else on a film set is by no means inexhaustible. Her actors (Ariane Labed and Harris Dickinson) get stuck and vent about Julie’s work ethic while she eavesdrops; her huffy cinematographer (real-life d.p. Ben Hecking) throws a strop when she can’t make up her mind about shot choices.

Alongside Julie’s work in progress, there’s another film in production by one Patrick Le Mage (Richard Ayoade, expanding on his brief appearance last time) – an all-singing, all-dancing proletarian musical called The History of Our Youth, which looks absurd, and has just enough in common with the bang-on-period Absolute Beginners (1986) to make Ayoade’s scene-stealing pomposity feel like an insider joke. Tucked away here are some of the most exasperated film-set insights this side of François Truffaut’s Day for Night. The hard graft and impossible logistics of the medium get a thorough going-over. But there’s also a profound sense of the pleasure, and satisfaction, of making something, however imperfect, and however long it takes. For Julie, it’s this film. But Hogg adds in a tiny morality play about getting too wrapped up in your own passion projects to respect other people’s. It comes in the shape of a lumpy sugar bowl – the first fruit of a pottery class Swinton’s Rosalind has been trying.

Byrne deepens her whole take on Julie so movingly, especially in making her need for new intimacy a raw, embarrassing thing. She has one animalistic one-night stand (with Charlie Heaton) but otherwise succumbs to painful romantic drift, crushing on all the wrong people. Joe Alwyn’s emotionally supportive editor has to sweetly let her down by mentioning he has a boyfriend, at which point the camera catches her stricken, and the audience thinks, “oh, babe”. Swinton continues to know precisely who Rosalind is, of course, and flawlessly transmits her essence, with three springer spaniels as her scuffling entourage. The family scenes are perfect.

The Souvenir: Part II is already doing everything you could ask of it, and then it springs a wondrous feat of pastiche-within-pastiche, serving up a kind of dream ballet finale that’s close to indescribable. Suffice to say, the première where all the characters eventually congregate is our ticket not for a literal screening, but a leaping-off into Hogg’s (and Julie’s) wildest hopes and reveries. The sequence is a through-the-looking-glass spectacle which dresses Julie up like a 1940s glamour queen, and takes her through a series of portals – adventuring, as her own film has aimed to do, into the very mysteries of her soul. 

Even beyond this part, there’s a coup de cinéma waiting on the other side, which offers pointedly the opposite closing shot to Part I. It speaks not of any pat redemption through filmmaking, or an escape back into living once again, but of anxiety, and artifice, and selves that have merged to the point where real life and cinematic portraiture are hopelessly intertwined. From a healing point of view, this may not be quite what the doctor ordered. While entertaining us deliriously, Hogg pulls the rug out. Somewhere behind Julie’s camera, shooting into this gilded mirror, is a lost soul.

[anadrenalineslut]

Truly, the people who think joe is a beard are just as illiterate as the hetlors honestly.

You do a huge disservice to taylor swift's songwriting ability to claim that songs like I think he knows or delicate or gorgeous or king of my heart or call it what you want or even dress (minus the I don't want you like a best friend line) are about not about joe alwyn because it adds so much more depth to the songs when you read them as they are written instead of what you wish Taylor's life looked like.

There is mourning and grief even in songs like dress and so it goes and labyrinth and long story short and invisible string and the 1 but also hope that can only be fully digested if one accepts the truth that taylor loved karlie once upon a time and loves joe now.

It makes reputation that much more heartbreaking and hopeful all at once. It makes lover mournful, it makes folklore devastating and evermore shining optimism when you listen to the songs as they are written.

It makes the hope in Cornelia St heartwrenching and the connection between soon you'll get better and false god more apparently, it makes you cry as you listen to right where you left me and then lifts you up as it's time to go comes on right after, it makes the prayer to prefer staying hidden in plain sight that much more horrifying to hear about, it makes you cry as you listen to the most beautiful love song be written about making dinner with your loved one, saying nothing but humming softly.

I just think some of yall need to realize bisexual people exist and usually end up in heterosexual relationships but that doesn't erase their sexuality.

Yall should try listen to what taylor* is saying, not what you wish she was.

[tabloidtoc]

OK, January 4

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Ashton Kutcher haunted by his mistakes

Page 2: Contents 

Page 4: Jennifer Garner ready for romance -- Jennifer has proven she’s fine on her own but she’s eager for her happy ending and has even set her sights on some of Hollywood’s most eligible hunks like Chris Evans but seems happily single; she binge-watched Outlander and was totally taken with Sam Heughan and she also finds Martin Henderson very sexy but heard he has a girlfriend 

Page 6: After a tumultuous few years Hayden Panettiere’s 2021 is looking bright and she’s been working on herself since her split from toxic ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson -- she’s taken control of her life and is making good choices -- she’s been able to rebuild her life and her relationship with her daughter Kaya who lives in Ukraine with her dad and next on her agenda is reviving her once-hot career

Page 7: Justin Bieber who’s been a devoted member of the controversial celeb-favored Hillsong Church for years is studying to become a minister -- Justin has long credited Hillsong and especially charismatic and recently fired pastor Carl Lentz for saving him from his dark period of drugs, public meltdowns and arrests -- Justin doesn’t plan to give up his music career but he feels there’s a bigger calling out there for him

* Jessica Simpson has signed deals for both a docuseries and a fictionalized series based on her life but not everyone is so pumped about her tell-all tendencies and least of all is her ex-husband Nick Lachey -- for Nick it’s just dredging up a past that’s better left alone and Nick hopes that Jessica goes easy on him in the scripted series but deep down knows there’s precious little chance of that

* Madonna is majorly inserting herself in her daughter Lourdes Leon’s love life and she’s constantly on the phone asking how things are going between Lourdes and her socialite beau of three years Jonathan Puglia and she wants to know when they’re making things official -- Madonna even pushes for double dates so she can bring her 26-year-old boyfriend Ahlamalik Williams -- Lourdes appreciates how much her mom cares but she’s finding all the micromanaging too much to handle 

Page 8: Jason Aldean who boasts an $80 million fortune loves splashing his cash around especially when it comes to his children -- the singer who shares son Memphis and daughter Navy with wife Brittany and girls Kendyl and Keeley with his ex likes being seen as the moneybags and leaves tough love to the kids’ moms and he’s always pulling out $100 bills for his teens and buying his little ones new clothes, toys and high-tech gadgets even though they’re so young -- he’s definitely spoiling the kids but nobody complains about it so he just keeps on buying them stuff because nothing makes him happier 

* The milestone 6-0 is still months away but George Clooney is planning to do some serious partying for his birthday and he’s sparing no expense -- he’s looking at celebrations across the States and Europe plus a boys-only getaway to Mexico 

* Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are having a blast filming their first movie together so much so that tongues are wagging about the pair’s fiery chemistry on the set -- even though Leo and Jen behave like total pros when the cameras aren’t rolling there’s a running joke among the cast and crew that Jen’s marriage to Cooke Maroney could be in trouble -- of course the reality is that Jen is crazy about her husband and Leo who is dating model Camila Morrone has a strict rule never to get involved with costars but still there’s an attraction that can’t be denied 

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars get glamorous in glitzy looks -- Alexa Chung, Tiffany Haddish

Page 11: Maya Hawke, Sarah Hyland 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Yara Shahidi vs. Cindy Bruna, Becky G vs. Sofia Carson 

Page 13: Celine Dion vs. Shailene Woodley

Page 14: News in Photos -- Jessie James Decker in a pink bikini in Nashville

Page 15: Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and their son Gunner doing a Christmas card shoot in L.A., Jessica Alba spent the day handing out Honest goodies at the Baby2Baby Holiday Drive-Thru Distribution in L.A. 

Page 16: Gwen Stefani rocked a cat-themed holiday jumpsuit while on the way to the recording studio in Santa Monica, Leighton Meester surfing in Malibu 

Page 17: Maria Sharapova brought back the 1970s during a photoshoot in L.A., Pink kept it casual during a coffee run to Starbucks in L.A., Tia Mowry returned home with a full trunk of gifts and goodies in L.A. 

Page 18: Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas exploring London 

Page 20: Let’s Get Physical -- Robin Wright took her bicycle out for a spin in L.A., Chris Hemsworth shows off his ripped body while lifting a tire, Winnie Harlow in L.A. 

Page 22: Deck the Halls -- newly-engaged Jonathan Bennett gushed of spending his first Christmas with fiance Jaymes Vaughan, Jonathan and Drew Scott dressed as elves 

Page 23: Jon Bon Jovi and his dog, Selena Gomez with her dog Winnie in front of the Christmas tree, Brooke Burke kicked off the season by signing ornaments that will be auctioned off by Operation Smile 

Page 24: Malin Akerman arranged the sheets and blankets and pillows at a Hotel Style Collection from Walmart event in NYC, Jeremy Renner filmed a scene for Hawkeye in NYC, Chrishell Stause stepped out for a morning walk with her rescue pooch Gracie in L.A. 

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Marc Anthony’s elegant estate in Coral Gables, Florida 

Page 28: Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are planning to renew their vows on Valentine’s Day which is 12 years to the day after Harrison proposed to Calista on their sprawling Jackson Hole, Wyoming ranch -- Calista is incredibly touched that Harrison is organizing this and he’s thoughtfully arranging to have her favorite flowers to be flown in and has already booked a local band and a caterer and baker 

Page 29: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski might be ready for baby No. 3 but friends are encouraging them to get their marriage on track first -- the two have had a tough couple of years and John can be hard to deal with and cranky when he’s working -- while the duo tend to put a super-positive spin on their marriage in public not everyone is convinced things are so rosy at home but Emily wants another child and so does John so they’re willing to take the risk 

* Meghan Markle and Prince Harry plan to kick off 2021 with a much-needed tropical vacation -- after an emotionally turbulent year Meghan and Harry are ready for this break -- following a quiet Christmas at home the couple is looking forward to relaxing on a warm beach somewhere, sleeping in, soaking up nature’s beauty and reconnecting as a couple -- they’re considering a private island in Hawaii or off the coast of Fiji 

Page 30: Taylor Swift who’s been collecting bridal magazines and wedding ideas since she was a teen will have to adjust to the idea of a small sequestered affair when her boyfriend Joe Alwyn officially pops the question -- the once-outgoing singer has turned into a hermit since hooking up with the British actor who insists on total privacy and loathes attention and now Tay’s inner circle is said to be worried that in Joe’s continued efforts to fly under the radar he’ll ultimately nix the lavish nuptials Taylor’s long envisioned

* Justin Timberlake and Olivia Wilde have a past -- dating briefly in 2011 and costarring in two films but they won’t have a future if Justin’s wife Jessica Biel has any say -- Justin is eager to work with newly single Olivia again but the collab between the old pals is a total no-no as far as Jess is concerned because she’s always seen Olivia as a threat and particularly now that she’s split from Jason Sudeikis

* Love Bites -- Bachelor Nation’s Emily Ferguson and hockey player William Karlsson are engaged, Christina Milian and Matt Pokora have another baby on the way, Gleb Savchenko and Cassie Scerbo dating 

Page 32: Cover Story -- Ashton Kutcher haunted by his past -- the actor is wrestling with major demons and regrets -- the grisly murder of his then-girlfriend Ashley Ellerin has stayed with him -- Ashton and wife Mila Kunis have weathered some storms but they’re in a good place now

Page 36: Celebrity Dads and Their Darling Daughters -- Michael and Carys Douglas, John and Ella Bleu Travolta, Lionel and Sofia Richie 

Page 37: Don and Dakota Johnson, Phil and Lily Collins 

Page 38: Ryan and Ava Phillippe, Mark and Lola Consuelos, Johnny and Lily-Rose Depp 

Page 39: Lenny and Zoe Kravitz, Clint and Francesca Eastwood, Alec and Ireland Baldwin, Rod and Ruby Stewart 

Page 40: Interview -- Charlize Theron does it all -- the actress, mom and producer talks about taking on projects that are close to her heart 

Page 42: New Year, New You -- kick-start a healthy 2021 with these celeb-approved wellness resolutions 

Page 46: Style Week -- Good American cofounded by Khloe Kardashian recently launched its first-ever footwear collection 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A with Brian Austin Green 

Page 58: Buzz -- Prince George and Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined their parents Prince William and Duchess Kate on the red carpet for the very first time and held hands on their way to London’s Palladium to watch the National Lottery’s Pantoland

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Gwyneth Paltrow on getting starstruck, Kurt Russell on wife Goldie Hawn’s penchant for sleeping in total darkness, Jimmy Fallon on which SNL costar he’d want to be stuck on a desert island with (Tina Fey), Chrissy Teigen on being embarrassed 

Page 61: Megan Thee Stallion on the guidance she gets from Jay-Z and Beyonce, Frances McDormand on hooking up with husband Joel Coen, Chad Michael Murray on seeing pics from his heartthrob days, Rachel Brosnahan on what the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fans can look forward to 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Capricorn John Legend turned 42 on December 28

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Larry David 

[tswiftdaily]

Taylor Swift on "Lover" and haters

You might say Taylor Swift's happy place is at the piano in her Nashville home. "There have been so many songs that were written at this piano," she said.

"And it's often the middle of the night?" asked correspondent Tracy Smith.

"It's usually in the middle of the night," she replied. "Or if I'm trying to get to sleep and I can't and then I get an idea. And I'm, like, 'Well, I'm not tired anyway!' And then kind of wander over here."

It's kind of a rare sight, not just because "Sunday Morning" was there ("I haven't serenaded someone in a while, hope you know that!"), but because, for the moment, Taylor Swift was actually sitting still.

I promise that you'll never find another like Me-e-e, Ooh ooh ooh ooh I'm the only one of me Baby, that's the fun of me – "Me!" by Taylor Swift, Joel Little and Brendon Urie

And there never really has been another like Taylor Swift. After only 13 years in the business, she's become a musical force of nature, with an armload of #1 hits, more Grammy Awards than The Rolling Stones, and (according to Forbes) the distinction of being the highest-paid celebrity on the planet.

By any measure, she's an amazing young woman. But there were times, she says, that being young, and a woman, worked against her.

"You're always gonna have people going, 'Did she write all her own songs?'" she said. "Talking about your personal life, talking about your dating life.

"There's a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry, right?"

"Gimme an example," asked correspondent Tracy Smith.

"Okay. A man does something, it's 'strategic'; a woman does the same thing, it's 'calculated.' A man is allowed to 'react'; a woman can only 'over-react.'"

And it seems her usual reaction is to get to work. Swift writes or co-writes all of her songs. And what's more, her music videos are all her vision, from the pastel wonderland in "Me!"…to the giant dollhouse in her latest video, "Lover."

That's also the title of her critically-acclaimed new studio album, her seventh. She wrote "Lover" on her piano at home, and polished it up in the studio. And once she recorded the music, Swift (accompanied by and her cats) went to Hollywood to make the music video, and she invited Smith along to watch.

There's a love story here, and like a lot of Swift's work, it's an echo of her real life.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift discovered her love for music as a toddler. She set her sights on a career in country music, and eventually her parents and younger brother moved to Nashville to help her do it.

"My brother's a real bro for doing that," Swift said.

"Yeah, they all upended their lives," Smith said.

"For sure."

"It worked out well!"

"Yeah, I buy 'em lots of presents," she laughed.

The rest reads like a fantasy: Swift became a country music phenomenon, and, in the last few years, a pop icon. But the superstar is, by her own admission, as emotionally fragile as any other 20-something, "I'm still someone who is the first to apologize when I'm wrong," she said. "But I think I'm better at standing up for myself when I've been wronged. So, that's something that I think also comes with growing up."

Which brings us to Scooter Braun. Earlier this summer, Braun, a talent agent with whom Swift says she has a contentious relationship, acquired the rights to her previous recordings – her masters – when his company bought Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group for a reported $300 million. Borchetta, who worked with Swift for years, says she and those close to her (including her dad, who was an investor), knew about the deal in advance, and that Swift had previously been offered the chance to buy her own masters.  

She remembers it differently, and told Smith she didn't see it coming: "I found out when it was online, like, when it hit the news."

"Nobody in your inner circle knew?" Smith asked.,

"Nobody knew."

"And you didn't smell it?"

"No. I knew he would sell my music; I knew he would do that. I couldn't believe who he sold it to, because we've had endless conversations about Scooter Braun. And he has 300 million reasons to conveniently forget those conversations."

With the sale of the masters to her first six albums, there has been speculation that Swift might re-record her back catalog, in order to control the recordings of her songs.

Smith asked, "Might you do that?"

"Oh, yeah," Swift replied.

"That's a plan?"

"Yeah, absolutely!"

Scooter Braun may not agree with her side of the story, but he did reach out to Swift in a tweet last week, calling her new album "brilliant."

It's clear that Swift wants to control her music:  When it's time to release one of her new songs, she does it personally, talking to her fans live on Instagram. This personal connection has earned her a loyal following. But her openness comes at price: She's followed just about everywhere she goes these days, by people who are crazy about her – or just plain crazy.

Smith asked, "Where is home for you now?"

"It's a very good question," she said. "I try not to ever really say where I am the most, because since all my addresses are on the internet, people tend to show up uninvited. Like, you know, dudes that think we have an imaginary marriage."

"And you mentioned that you keep wound dressing with you?"

"Yeah. I've had a lot of stalkers show up to the house, armed. So, we have to think that way."

And she's come under attack in other ways: You need only glance at the tabloids to see some very well-publicized feuds, and she often hits back at her haters through her music. For instance, in "You Need to Calm Down," she calls out anti-gay protesters and online trolls:

You are somebody that we don't know But you're comin' at my friends like a missile Why are you mad? When you could be GLAAD? Sunshine on the street at the parade But you would rather be in the dark ages …

Control your urges to scream about all the people you hate 'Cause shade never made anybody less gay – "You Need to Calm Down" by Taylor Swift and Joel Little

Smith asked, "I'm curious, because I feel like almost every album, you have a song where you address the haters, at least one song. Sometimes more than one song."

"I probably do have that habit. I imagine that I might have that habit, yeah."

"Why is that? Why sing to the haters?"

"Well, when they stop coming for me, I will stop singing to them," Swift replied. "You know, people go on and on about, like, you have to forgive and forget to move past something. No, you don't. You don't have to forgive and you don't have to forget to move on. You can move on without any of those things happening. You just become indifferent, and then you move on."

"Do you believe in forgiveness?"

"Yes, absolutely, like, for people that are important in your life who have added, you know, who have enriched your life and made it better, and also there has been some struggle and some bad stuff, too. But I think that, you know, if something's toxic and it's only ever really been that, what are you gonna do?"

"Just move on?"

"Just move on. It's fine."

Taylor Swift's music is always personal, sometimes intensely so. "There's one song on the album called 'Soon You'll Get Better' that it's, I can't even really hear. I can't even listen to it."

She won't talk specifically about her inspiration, but it comes at a time when her mother Andrea, who was battling cancer, suffered a relapse.

Swift said, "It's really interesting because I don't think I have written a song quite like that before. And it's just sort of, like, it's just a tough one."

"I can imagine. But I can also tell you, having listened to it, that it's universal."

"It's just not something that we deal with until we have to, until we see it, until we experience it, until someone close to us is going through something like that. And so, writing about it was really emotional. And I'm just gonna stop talking about it now."

She's more comfortable plunging into her work. On the Hollywood set, a large glass tank will become a symbolic fish bowl in the "Lover" music video.

"I very oftentimes remark that my life is like a fish bowl, and that, like, if I were to, like, fall in love, you know, somebody's choosing to be in that fish bowl with me. To jump into the fish bowl with me and live in that world just with me – it's not as depressing as it sounds, I promise! It's just symbolic!"

Talk about fish bowls: she's been dating British actor Joe Alwyn for three years. Seems he's up for a swim.

At the moment, Swift is, well, fully immersed in today. Beyond that, she says she doesn't know … and doesn't really want to.

Smith asked her, "Do you think about, you know, 'What am I gonna do in 20, 30 years?'"

"No, 'cause that puts me into what I call a panic spiral," Swift replied. "Like, I cannot do that. I've never been able to do that."

Why? "It just freaks me out. When I zoom out too far, I freak out. Do I know where I'm gonna be or even wanna be in 20 years? Absolutely not. Like, not taking a single day for granted."

"So, how far ahead do you look?"

"Six months. Just 'cause I have to plan shows and stuff. But I don't know what I'll do after this album. And I think that's great. I tell myself, like, it's actually really ungrateful to just assume that you have 20 years. Like, be stoked that you have today."

(x)

[path-of-my-childhood]

How Joe Alwyn Formed a “Very Close” Bond With Taylor Swift’s Family

By: Lindsay Weinberg for E News Date: January 13th 2021

The singer and her favorite "London Boy," Joe Alwyn, appear to have grown even closer during the pandemic while enjoying strolls around London — and not to mention, co-writing multiple songs for folklore and evermore.

On Monday, Jan. 11, the lovers were spotted taking a chilly walk in North London Public Park, along with Joe's mom Elizabeth Alwyn. Joe and Taylor held hands as they all bundled up in face masks and coats. Naturally, Tay's was by Stella McCartney.

Although it was a rare sighting of the private pair, E! News has learned it's far from their first outing in Britain during quarantine. We're told the "exile" co-writers rang in the New Year together with Joe's family in England, where Taylor has been staying for a few weeks. A source close to the superstar exclusively tells E! News: 

"She is back and forth between Nashville and England spending time with her family and with Joe's family. They take walks in the neighborhood and go on hikes to get fresh air."

Of course, amidst the coronavirus lockdown, they have been "abiding by the rules and not leaving the house much." However, it's also important for the couple to spend time across the pond with Taylor's family, particularly her mom Andrea Swift, who is said to be undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The insider says: 

"Her mom's health is always very much on Taylor's mind. She goes back and forth to see her mom and Joe comes along." The source notes that Taylor, Joe and their families "all seem very close and very happy," telling E! News, "They both know each other's families well and have spent a lot of time getting to know each other."

[makistar2018]

Taylor Swift on "Lover" and haters

John D'Amelio August 25, 2019

You might say Taylor Swift's happy place is at the piano in her Nashville home. "There have been so many songs that were written at this piano," she said.

"And it's often the middle of the night?" asked correspondent Tracy Smith.

"It's usually in the middle of the night," she replied. "Or if I'm trying to get to sleep and I can't and then I get an idea. And I'm, like, 'Well, I'm not tired anyway!' And then kind of wander over here."

Taylor Swift at her piano, with correspondent Tracy Smith. 

It's kind of a rare sight, not just because "Sunday Morning" was there ("I haven't serenaded someone in a while, hope you know that!"), but because, for the moment, Taylor Swift was actually sitting still.

I promise that you'll never find another like Me-e-e, Ooh ooh ooh ooh I'm the only one of me Baby, that's the fun of me – "Me!" by Taylor Swift, Joel Little and Brendon Urie

And there never really has been another like Taylor Swift. After only 13 years in the business, she's become a musical force of nature, with an armload of #1 hits, more Grammy Awards than The Rolling Stones, and (according to Forbes) the distinction of being the highest-paid celebrity on the planet.

By any measure, she's an amazing young woman. But there were times, she says, that being young, and a woman, worked against her.

"You're always gonna have people going, 'Did she write all her own songs?'" she said. "Talking about your personal life, talking about your dating life.

"There's a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry, right?"

"Gimme an example," asked correspondent Tracy Smith.

"Okay. A man does something, it's 'strategic'; a woman does the same thing, it's 'calculated.' A man is allowed to 'react'; a woman can only 'over-react.'"

And it seems her usual reaction is to get to work. Swift writes or co-writes all of her songs. And what's more, her music videos are all her vision, from the pastel wonderland in "Me!":

…to the giant dollhouse in her latest video, "Lover." 

That's also the title of her critically-acclaimed new studio album, her seventh. She wrote "Lover" on her piano at home, and polished it up in the studio. And once she recorded the music, Swift (accompanied by and her cats) went to Hollywood to make the music video, and she invited Smith along to watch.

There's a love story here, and like a lot of Swift's work, it's an echo of her real life.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift discovered her love for music as a toddler. She set her sights on a career in country music, and eventually her parents and younger brother moved to Nashville to help her do it.

"My brother's a real bro for doing that," Swift said.

"Yeah, they all upended their lives," Smith said.

"For sure."

"It worked out well!"

"Yeah, I buy 'em lots of presents," she laughed.

The rest reads like a fantasy: Swift became a country music phenomenon, and, in the last few years, a pop icon. But the superstar is, by her own admission, as emotionally fragile as any other 20-something, "I'm still someone who is the first to apologize when I'm wrong," she said. "But I think I'm better at standing up for myself when I've been wronged. So, that's something that I think also comes with growing up."

Which brings us to Scooter Braun. Earlier this summer, Braun, a talent agent with whom Swift says she has a contentious relationship, acquired the rights to her previous recordings – her masters – when his company bought Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group for a reported $300 million. Borchetta, who worked with Swift for years, says she and those close to her (including her dad, who was an investor), knew about the deal in advance, and that Swift had previously been offered the chance to buy her own masters.  

She remembers it differently, and told Smith she didn't see it coming: "I found out when it was online, like, when it hit the news."

"Nobody in your inner circle knew?" Smith asked.,

"Nobody knew."

"And you didn't smell it?"

"No. I knew he would sell my music; I knew he would do that. I couldn't believe who he sold it to, because we've had endless conversations about Scooter Braun. And he has 300 million reasons to conveniently forget those conversations."

With the sale of the masters to her first six albums, there has been speculation that Swift might re-record her back catalog, in order to control the recordings of her songs.

Smith asked, "Might you do that?"

"Oh, yeah," Swift replied.

"That's a plan?"

"Yeah, absolutely!"

Scooter Braun may not agree with her side of the story, but he did reach out to Swift in a tweet last week, calling her new album "brilliant."

It's clear that Swift wants to control her music:  When it's time to release one of her new songs, she does it personally, talking to her fans live on Instagram. This personal connection has earned her a loyal following. But her openness comes at price: She's followed just about everywhere she goes these days, by people who are crazy about her – or just plain crazy.

Smith asked, "Where is home for you now?"

"It's a very good question," she said. "I try not to ever really say where I am the most, because since all my addresses are on the internet, people tend to show up uninvited. Like, you know, dudes that think we have an imaginary marriage."

"And you mentioned that you keep wound dressing with you?"

"Yeah. I've had a lot of stalkers show up to the house, armed. So, we have to think that way."

And she's come under attack in other ways: You need only glance at the tabloids to see some very well-publicized feuds, and she often hits back at her haters through her music. For instance, in "You Need to Calm Down," she calls out anti-gay protesters and online trolls:

You are somebody that we don't know But you're comin' at my friends like a missile Why are you mad? When you could be GLAAD? Sunshine on the street at the parade But you would rather be in the dark ages …

Control your urges to scream about all the people you hate 'Cause shade never made anybody less gay – "You Need to Calm Down" by Taylor Swift and Joel Little

Smith asked, "I'm curious, because I feel like almost every album, you have a song where you address the haters, at least one song. Sometimes more than one song."

"I probably do have that habit. I imagine that I might have that habit, yeah."

"Why is that? Why sing to the haters?"

"Well, when they stop coming for me, I will stop singing to them," Swift replied. "You know, people go on and on about, like, you have to forgive and forget to move past something. No, you don't. You don't have to forgive and you don't have to forget to move on. You can move on without any of those things happening. You just become indifferent, and then you move on."

"Do you believe in forgiveness?"

"Yes, absolutely, like, for people that are important in your life who have added, you know, who have enriched your life and made it better, and also there has been some struggle and some bad stuff, too. But I think that, you know, if something's toxic and it's only ever really been that, what are you gonna do?"

"Just move on?"

"Just move on. It's fine."

Taylor Swift's music is always personal, sometimes intensely so. "There's one song on the album called 'Soon You'll Get Better' that it's, I can't even really hear. I can't even listen to it."

She won't talk specifically about her inspiration, but it comes at a time when her mother Andrea, who was battling cancer, suffered a relapse.

Swift said, "It's really interesting because I don't think I have written a song quite like that before. And it's just sort of, like, it's just a tough one."

"I can imagine. But I can also tell you, having listened to it, that it's universal."

"It's just not something that we deal with until we have to, until we see it, until we experience it, until someone close to us is going through something like that. And so, writing about it was really emotional. And I'm just gonna stop talking about it now."

She's more comfortable plunging into her work. On the Hollywood set, a large glass tank will become a symbolic fish bowl in the "Lover" music video.

Taylor Swift filming the fish bowl sequence from her music video "Lover."  CBS NEWS

"I very oftentimes remark that my life is like a fish bowl, and that, like, if I were to, like, fall in love, you know, somebody's choosing to be in that fish bowl with me. To jump into the fish bowl with me and live in that world just with me – it's not as depressing as it sounds, I promise! It's just symbolic!"

Talk about fish bowls: she's been dating British actor Joe Alwyn for three years. Seems he's up for a swim.

At the moment, Swift is, well, fully immersed in today. Beyond that, she says she doesn't know … and doesn't really want to.

Smith asked her, "Do you think about, you know, 'What am I gonna do in 20, 30 years?'"

"No, 'cause that puts me into what I call a panic spiral," Swift replied. "Like, I cannot do that. I've never been able to do that."

Why? "It just freaks me out. When I zoom out too far, I freak out. Do I know where I'm gonna be or even wanna be in 20 years? Absolutely not. Like, not taking a single day for granted."

"So, how far ahead do you look?"

"Six months. Just 'cause I have to plan shows and stuff. But I don't know what I'll do after this album. And I think that's great. I tell myself, like, it's actually really ungrateful to just assume that you have 20 years. Like, be stoked that you have today."

CBS News