Some of Taylor Swift‘s ex-boyfriends have publicly thrown shade at her, which was super messed up. I used to be the biggest Swiftie ever, and I really resonated with a lot of Taylor’s music.

These days, I’m still a fan of Taylor, but I definitely wish she were still more vocally outspoken about politics the way she once was. Things have become increasingly chaotic in our political atmosphere lately, and it would be a remarkable opportunity for Taylor to utilize her power and influence to speak out on the right side of history.

But she’s remained pretty silent. So that definitely bums me out. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that I’ve deeply resonated with Taylor and connected with her over songs like August, Lover, I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space, Cardigan, Wildest Dreams, and so many more.

Even songs she’s written that I don’t necessarily relate to have stolen my heart, like All Too Well, You Belong With Me, and Back to December.

So even though my perception of Taylor has come with highs and lows over the years, I can still talk about her with a lot of love, respect, and admiration… But that hasn’t always been the case for some of her ex-boyfriends.

Some of her ex-boyfriends turned into full-fledged haters after their relationship with Taylor came crashing down. So let’s talk about it, starting with Calvin Harris.

Calvin Harris

Calvin absolutely went on an unhinged Twitter rant about Taylor back in 2016. GQ interviewed him about the whole ordeal in 2017, and he spoke on it, saying, “It was completely the wrong instinct. I was protecting what I see as my own talent in the world being belittled. It felt like things were piling on top of me, and that was when I snapped…”

So, in his own words, he said he snapped. And it all started because a representative from Taylor’s team revealed that she wrote the lyrics to This is What You Came For under a pseudonym, and also added background vocals to the track, most known for being sung by Rihanna.

Calvin lclapped back to that big reveal writing, “Hurtful to me at this point that she and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make me look bad at this stage, though. I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship, you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do. I know you’re off tour, and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy, etc., but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.”

Like, yes, he absolutely dragged Katy Perry into the mix because we all know Katy and Taylor had drama of their own at one point. Some would say that Calvin‘s reaction partially stemmed from his disappointment and rage in seeing Taylor jump into a new relationship with Tom Hiddleston so quickly. But since Calvin never mentioned Tom in the Twitter rant, that’s up for speculation.

He went on to say, “It’s very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly. The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship itself. When we were together, we were very careful not to make it a media circus. She respected my feelings in that sense. I’m not good at being a celebrity. But when it ended, all hell broke loose. Now, I see that Twitter thing as a result of my succumbing to pressure. It took me a minute to realize that none of that matters. I’m a positive guy.”

If this isn’t an example of Taylor‘s ex truly throwing shade at her, then I don’t know what it is. But let’s move on.

John Mayer

John Mayer shaded Taylor by bashing her song, Dear John, back in 2012. I have to personally admit that Dear John is one of my favorite Taylor songs of all time. She absolutely killed it with that lyricism. Especially the part when she says, “I’m shining like fireworks over your side, empty town.“

Taylor dominated with those lyrics. But anyway, John threw shade her way in a Rolling Stone interview, saying, “It made me feel terrible. Because I didn’t deserve it. I’m pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was really a lousy thing for her to do.”

Here’s the issue with the shade Jhon through at her. You can’t discount someone else’s feelings and emotions. Just because he dismisses the relationship they had and believes he hurt her less than he did doesn’t mean that’s the experience she had. Taylor was heartbroken by what he put her through. Taylor was clearly devastated, based on the lyrics of Dear John. So the way he tried to downplay her emotions is extremely shady, in my opinion.

And that’s not to say I’m not also a fan of John Mayer’s music. I appreciate him as an artist. But I think he felt really called out when Taylor said, “Don’t you think 19 is too young to be played by your dark twisted games when I loved you so?”

Any older guy dating a younger woman would feel very offended and called out by those lyrics. But at the end of the day, he chose to date a much younger girl and put her through the emotional ringer. So the result of that was her finding catharsis through her criticism. And I fully support Taylor for doing what she did.

Harry Styles

It’s widely believed Harry Styles threw shade at Taylor in his song Two Ghosts. The reason people think so is that some of the lyrics mimic the nature of Taylor’s lyrics for her song style, which is widely believed to have been written about Harry. Taylor released the song Style, a play on Harry’s last name, and just about everyone connected the dots.

So when he released the song Two Ghosts with lyrics that say, “Same red lips, same eyes, blue, same white shirt, couple more tattoos,“ it really sounded like he wanted people to drop parallel to her song Style in which she sings, “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye, and I got that red lip, classic thing that you like.”

She sings, “Long hair, slicked back, white T-shirt” in the chorus, too. During an interview on BBC Radio One, Harry denied that his song was about Taylor when they outright asked him if it was. But that doesn’t take away from all the similarities in the lyrics.

But let’s talk about why this song was actually a tad bit shady. It’s definitely not shady in the sense that Harry was trying to drag Taylor for filth, but it’s filled with sadness and symbolism, describing the failure of their love story and the emptiness left in him.

Lyrics like, “We’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass, half empty, trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat“have been analyzed by fans who claim Harry is describing Taylor as an ex-girlfriend who turned him into a ghost of a human who doesn’t even remember what his own heartbeat feels like. In other words, she broke him down so much that he’s left with trauma over their failed relationship.

Harry could have gone way harder if he truly wanted to be shadier towards Taylor, but this really wasn’t that mean or harmful. It was more of an artistic expression than anything else.

Joe Jonas

Joe Jonas really perfected the art of throwing shade at Taylor Swift in his song Much Better, and it’s actually a lot shorter than whatever Harry Styles had to say in his breakup ballad. Joe released Much Better with the Jonas Brothers in 2009, and he definitely left hints and clues in the song that it was intended for Taylor Swift to hear.

And that’s because the intro of the song says, “I get a rep for breakin’ hearts / Now I’m done with superstars / And all the tears on her guitar / I’m not bitter / But now I see / Everything I’d ever need / Is the girl in front of me / She’s much better.”

Like, he absolutely did not mince words. Taylor is the definition of a superstar, and the world has been obsessed with her since her debut album, so when he said he was done with superstars, it’s obvious he was talking about her.

Then he mentioned tears on her guitar, a clear reference to Taylor’s hit single Teardrops on My Guitar. And he claims he’s not bitter because he’s moved on with a girl in front of him who is much better. And that is just about as shady as it can possibly get. Claiming that the girl you’re with now is much better than your ex is super cold, but that’s obviously exactly the message Joe wanted the world to hear.

His lyrics also say, “Now I’ve got some enemies / And they’re all friends suddenly / BFF’s eternally /But I’m not bitter.” As if to say, Taylor suddenly linked up with some of his other enemies to team up against him in one way or another. This all happened so long ago that the drama is definitely pretty outdated.

For a quick refresher, though, Taylor and Joe dated from July to October 2008. The pop culture world was obsessed with them as a couple since they were both good-looking young musicians at the time. But during her interview on the Ellen show, she revealed that he dumped her in a 27-second phone call. And he got dragged in the media for that because I thought it was super coldhearted for him to end their relationship that way.

He allegedly inspired a lot of her songs, including Mr. Perfectly Fine and Forever and Always. So it really doesn’t surprise me that he released Much Better in response to all the chaos. Since then, it seems Taylor and Joe have been friendly enough. But she did buddy up with his more recent ex, Sophie Turner. Taylor even allowed Sophie to stay at her New York City penthouse for free during Sophie‘s divorce from Joe.

This kind of shines light on the line from Joe’s song about his ex-girlfriend linking up with his enemies. Very ironic that something like that happened so many years in the future since Sophie and Joe ended up calling it quits and officially getting divorced in September 2024.

Matty Healy

Last but not least, let’s talk about the time Matty Healy threw some shade Taylor‘s way. Taylor’s relationship with Matty was one that the Swifties never loved to see. No one was really happy for Taylor when she was dating that dude. Everyone was actually extremely disappointed based on his history of saying super inappropriate remarks, some of which were even racist.

So I can admit that I’m actually pretty happy Taylor moved on from her relationship with Matty. He’s kind of just a sucky person. As a Black woman, I just really don’t appreciate racism from people. It’s tiresome and exhausting. Like really, just grow up and get over the fact that other people have a different skin color than you. Truly, just get over it.

But anyway, Matty threw shade at Taylor after their relationship fumbled in 2023. He said, “I’ve never written a song about a real person, that’s hack and cheap.“ In other words, he called it hacking because Taylor has written so many songs about real people with whom she’s had real experiences over the years. That is one of the most messed up things he could’ve said about Taylor as a writer and artist.

Taylor has deeply resonated with so many of her fans based on her lyricism, stemming from the fact that she’s written about real people in real heartbreaks. So the fact that Matty said that was just so gross. When TMZ asked if he heard Taylor’s diss track against him on her Tortured Poets Department album called The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, he responded, saying, “My diss track? Oh, I haven’t really listened to that much of it. But I’m sure it’s good.“

He came across as super bored and uninterested in Taylor’s music, even music that was most likely written about him. Which is another super callous and shady way of making another person think that you really don’t care about them at all.

All in all, I’m really glad Taylor moved on from these relationships, and I do love that she has used her real-life experiences to write such relatable music.

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