Ever since Taylor Swift fans heard word that the singer would be re-recording her albums following her masters being sold, they’ve had a sharp eye on her ex Jake Gyllenhaal. Rumor has it that much of the album is inspired by their relationship ahead of its 2012 release. Last fall, Swift released Red (Taylor’s Version), and Gyllenhaal found himself in the middle of conversations about the album a decade later. What does the Donnie Darko actor think about all this?
Jake Gylllenhaal has finally responded to all the talk about him and Taylor Swift in Red (Taylor’s Version), especially in terms of her song “All Too Well,” which she re-released with a 10-minute version (which broke big records), directed a short film for featuring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, and performed it live as the musical guest on the Saturday Night Live episode Jonathan Majors hosted. In Gyllenhaal’s words:
It has nothing to do with me. It’s about her relationship with her fans. It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don’t begrudge anyone that.
“All Too Well” is revered by hardcore fans as Taylor Swift’s best song and most heart-wrenching of her discography. She’s been teasing a 10-minute version of the song for years, and when it was released, the song had a few nudges fans connected with Jake Gyllenhaal, who recently starred in The Guilty, which is available with a Netflix subscription.
For example, Taylor Swift says the guy who broke her heart was “sipping coffee like you’re on a late night show” along with discussing a large age-gap in their relationship, which the pair had when they dated. Swift was 20 and Gyllenhaal was 29, not unlike the actors chosen for the “All Too Well” video (Sink is 19 and O’Brien is 30).
During Gyllenhaal’s recent interview, he proceeded saying it has nothing to do with him by getting into online trolls and public discourse in a broad sense. In his words:
At some point, I think it’s important when supporters get unruly that we feel a responsibility to have them be civil and not allow for cyberbullying in one’s name. That begs for a deeper philosophical question. Not about any individual, per se, but a conversation that allows us to examine how we can—or should, even—take responsibility for what we put into the world, our contributions into the world. How do we provoke a conversation?
Jake Gyllenhaal took a moment during the Taylor Swift conversation to make a larger point about how fan followers can get “unruly” and begin to bully on the internet in one’s name. Gyllenhaal is certainly not wrong considering many Swifties have been savage in their words about the actor years after the pair were in a relationship. The actor topped things off with sharing his own state of grace right now:
My life is wonderful. I have a relationship that is truly wonderful, and I have a family I love so much. And this whole period of time has made me realize that.
By “period of time,” I’m sure he means the pandemic Swifties. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that’s all we’re going to get from the Swift/Gyllenhaal situation. Both parties have moved on, with Swift now happy and in love with Joe Alwyn, but if it wasn’t for this pairing, Red may not have been the same.