Let’s be real, when Taylor Swift announced that she would be releasing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) next, the internet was alive with a ton of people telling Jake Gyllenhaal that he had nothing to worry about anymore, John Mayers time had finally come.
We all accepted that.
We knew what was going to happen.
We knew that we were ready to fight to the death for our queen.
But just because we’re ready to, doesn’t mean we need to. See, Speak Now was a long time ago, and things have changed. At the Minneapolis’ US Bank Stadium, Era’s Tour stop, Taylor played Dear John for the first time in 11 years.
And she asked for something very specific from her fans.
“I was hoping to ask you that as we lead up to this album coming out, I would love for that kindness and that gentleness to extend onto our internet activities,” Swift said at the stop.
“I’m 33 years old, I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote and the memories we made together,” she said. “So what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about.”
See the introduction below –
Taylor Swift on the release of ‘Speak Now’ TV before performing ‘Dear John’:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 25, 2023
“I’m 33 years old, I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19… I’m not putting this album out so you can go on the internet and defend me against someone you think I wrote a song… pic.twitter.com/cFQbKQk8vD
Though our first inclination will always be to defend, we’re working to change that to honor. So yes, we’re definitely going to honor what Taylor has asked of us all.