Taylor Swift enthusiasts are abuzz, theorizing that her recent slew of surprise songs subtly target her former flame, Joe Alwyn.
Last week, the 34-year-old songstress took the stage at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, performing over the span of three nights as part of her celebrated Eras Tour.
On the evening of Saturday, June 15, Swift serenaded the crowd with hits from her albums Fearless, Red, Reputation, and Speak Now before transitioning to her acoustic set.
Typically during this segment of her exhaustive three-and-a-half-hour concert, Swift blends several songs together. For this particular show, she introduced the segment by picking up her guitar and announcing, “This one, I’m gonna call this the ‘murder mashup’.”
She then delved into performances of ‘Carolina’ from 2022 and ‘No Body, No Crime’ from 2020.
Swift has described ‘No Body, No Crime,’ a track from her Evermore album, as a ‘murder mystery song,’ while ‘Carolina’ featured in the soundtrack of the 2022 film Where The Crawdads Sing. The movie narratives the story of Kya, the ‘marsh girl’ (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones), who is accused of murder following the discovery of Chase Andrew’s (portrayed by Harris Dickinson) body.
Now, with the timing of Alwyn’s recent comments on their breakup coinciding with the ‘murder mashup,’ fans are convinced the medley is a veiled jab at him.
In a The Sunday Times Style interview published on the same day, the 33-year-old actor remarked, “As everyone knows, we together – both of us, mutually – decided to keep the more private details of our relationship private. It was never something to commodify and I see no reason to change that now. And, look, this is also a little over a year ago now and I feel fortunate to be in a really great place in my life, professionally and personally. I feel really good.”
He expressed his hope that others would “empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years.”
The juxtaposition of Alwyn’s interview with Swift’s thematic song choices has sparked a flurry of fan theories and reactions.
One fan exclaimed on X, “Okay you have to give it to Taylor. A murder mashup right before she heads to London is hysterical.”
Another fan added, “And suddenly the murder mashup makes sense now.”
A third fan speculated, “Did she just shade Joe Alwyn with ‘No Body, No Crime’ & ‘Carolina’? Swifties think it’s a genius dig right after his breakup comments!”
Another commented, “She sang the murder mashup for a reason last night.”
Alwyn and Swift, who commenced their discreet relationship in 2016, maintained a low profile throughout. Their separation was confirmed early last year, prior to her current relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce.
Swift has yet to make any public comments regarding the end of her relationship with Alwyn.
However, fans have surmised that several tracks from her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, might be inspired by their former union.
Following her Liverpool concerts, Swift is set to perform at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and then for three nights at London’s Wembley Stadium. She will conclude the European leg of her Eras Tour by August 20 and plans to return to the US later this year.