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Taylor Swift slams ex Joe Alwyn on savage new album as she hints he was a cheater

The singer appears to have let rip her wrath on her ex Joe Alwyn, branding him a lying coward she will never forgive on her new album.

The Tortured Poets Department sends Swift fans into meltdown

Furious Taylor Swift has savaged ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn in brutal lyrics on her new album — hinting he cheated on her and broke her heart.

The US superstar appears to have let rip her wrath on the Brit actor, 33, in her 11th album The ­Tortured Poets ­Department, released on Friday — branding an ex-lover a lying coward she will never forgive.

Fans say the US superstar, 34, has unleashed her fury on the 33-year-old actor after their abrupt split 12 months ago, The Sun reports.

The pair dated for six years, and acidic lyrics on Taylor’s 11th album, titled The Tortured Poets Department, suggest someone cheated by messaging other people, with the guilty party accused of “sliding into inboxes”.

The savagely titled song, ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’, features scathing words including: “And you’ll confess why you did it … And I’ll say good riddance. ’Cos it wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden.

“You didn’t measure up in any measure of a man. I would have died for your sins but instead I just died inside.”

Taylor Swift has savaged ex Joe Alwyn in new album The Tortured Poets Department. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jake Nowakowski
Taylor Swift has savaged ex Joe Alwyn in new album The Tortured Poets Department. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jake Nowakowski
Taylor and Joe spent six years together until they split in April last year. Picture: Robert Kamau/GC
Taylor and Joe spent six years together until they split in April last year. Picture: Robert Kamau/GC

Ferociously, Taylor goes on: “You deserve prison, but you won’t get time. You will slide into inboxes and slip through the bars.”

She also jibes: “In plain sight you hid but you are what you did. And I’ll forget you, but I’ll never forgive the smallest man who ever lived.”

Taylor and Joe, who started dating in 2016, shocked fans when their relationship came to an abrupt end last year.

On the new album, which is released today, Taylor sings about how an ex-partner had called her the “love of his life” and they discussed marriage and children.

‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ sees Taylor document her struggles as she embarked on her record-breaking Eras World tour less than four weeks after they broke up.

The singer, who is now dating NFL star Travis Kelce, sings: “Breaking down I hit the floor, all the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting ‘more!’.

“I was grinning, like I’m winning. I was hiding my marks, ’cos I can do it with a broken heart.”

The album is believed to have been named after a WhatsApp group Joe was in with fellow actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.

One song documents Taylor’s struggle embarking on the record-breaking Eras World tour right after she and Joe broke up. Picture: Robyn Beck/AFP
One song documents Taylor’s struggle embarking on the record-breaking Eras World tour right after she and Joe broke up. Picture: Robyn Beck/AFP

And on ‘Loml’ (Love of my life) she slams an ex as a lying coward: “You s**t talked me under the table. Talking rings and talking cradles …

“The coward he was a lion. I’m combing through the braids of lies.”

Another track, ‘The Black Dog’, suggests it hurt Taylor to see a former lover moving on while she was struggling.

She says he forgot to turn his phone’s location off, continuing: “You walk into some bar called The Black Dog and pierced new holes in my heart.

“You forgot to turn it off and it hits me. I just don’t understand how you don’t miss me … ”

Taylor’s relationships with former flames Jake Gyllenhaal, Harry Styles and Calvin Harris have inspired songs on previous albums including Red, 1989 and Reputation.

Another ex, Matty Healy, frontman of rock group The 1975, also apparently features on the new release.

We first revealed their romance in May last year — soon after Taylor’s split with Joe.

Taylor also lifts the lid on her brief relationship with Brit rocker Matty Healy last year. Picture: Matthew Baker/Getty
Taylor also lifts the lid on her brief relationship with Brit rocker Matty Healy last year. Picture: Matthew Baker/Getty

Fans claim tracks including ‘Fortnight’ document the turbulent period, where she appears to be boozing heavily in the wake of a break-up.

She sings: “I was a functioning alcoholic, till nobody noticed my new aesthetic.

“All of this to say, I hope you’re OK but you’re the reason.

“My mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February … And I love you, it’s ruining my life.”

One apparent gibe sees Taylor appearing to compare moving on from Joe to Matty as going “out of the oven and into the microwave”.

On ‘I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)’ Taylor says her friends advised her against dating a lover, which fans say is Matty.

Taylor sings: “The jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud.

“They say, ‘God help her’ when I tell them he’s my man. But your good Lord doesn’t need to lift a finger. I can fix him, no really I can.”

The Tortured Poets Department’s name is believed to have been taken from a WhatsApp group ex Joe was in. Picture: Supplied
The Tortured Poets Department’s name is believed to have been taken from a WhatsApp group ex Joe was in. Picture: Supplied

On ‘But Daddy, I Love Him’, Taylor appears to slam people trying to control her love life.

She rages: “I’ll tell you something about my good name. It’s mine along with mine to disgrace.”

Following their four-week fling, Taylor dated NFL star Travis, 37, who appears to get a mention in ‘The Alchemy’.

Taylor sings of the sportsman, who she was pictured with at Coachella in California last weekend: “Beer sticking to the floor, cheers, chanting ’cos they said ‘there was no chance’ trying to be the greatest in the league.

“Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me.”

In one song, Taylor appears to slam people trying to control her love life. Picture Instagram.
In one song, Taylor appears to slam people trying to control her love life. Picture Instagram.
Taylor is seemingly still very happy with NFL player Travis Kelce according to one song on her album. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP
Taylor is seemingly still very happy with NFL player Travis Kelce according to one song on her album. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP

On first listen, The Tortured Poets Department could be the first time Taylor Swift’s crown has slipped in years.

However, while there is no immediate “radio-friendly single”, that doesn’t mean her reign as queen of the music industry is over.

In fact, far from it.

It’s fair to say most, if not all, the songs are growers which quickly become stuck in the head after a couple of plays with infectious hooks and loops.

Lead single ‘Fortnight’, featuring rapper Post Malone, has all the markings to recreate the success of her juggernaut 2022 hit ‘Anti-Hero’.

Lyrically, Taylor has never been stronger either. In keeping with its name, Tortured Poets is essentially the past two years of Taylor’s life retold as poetry.

Peppered with similes and metaphors, the album is easily the most vulnerable, and brutal, Taylor has ever released.

Standout tracks include pop number ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ and heartbreaking ballad ‘Loml’.

And so her reign continues.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Taylor Swift slams ex Joe Alwyn on savage new album as she hints he was a cheater

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/music/taylor-swift-slams-ex-joe-alwyn-on-savage-new-album-as-she-hints-he-was-a-cheater/news-story/c67b31a1e51a2a34c2dbc66e52b0a10c