Taylor Swift has “nothing to avenge” with “The Tortured Poets Department” – despite her scathing songs about her exes Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy.
The Grammy winner told fans upon the release of her searing breakup album that it documented her “saddest story”, from which she is now “free”.
The pop star, 34, explained via Instagram: “(It’s) an anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and feelings of a fleeting and fatalistic moment – a moment that is both sensational and painful in equal measure. »
She continued: “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter is closed and barricaded. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once the wounds have healed.
“And upon reflection, quite a few of them turned out to be self-inflicted,” Swift confessed.
“This writer firmly believes that our tears become holy as ink on a page,” she concluded. “Once we tell our saddest story, we can free ourselves from it. And then all that remains is tortured poetry.
The singer’s 11th studio album — and the “15 additional songs” she released as part of “The Anthology” early Friday morning — offer a vulnerable look at her recent romances.
Not only does Swift reference her short-lived fling with The 1975’s Matty Healy in “But Daddy I Love Him” and her current relationship with Travis Kelce in “The Alchemy,” but she primarily documents her breakup with Joe Alwyn.
The former couple began dating in 2016 and kept their romance out of the public eye before announcing their separation in April 2023.
Fans were convinced before the album’s release that it would center around Alwyn, 33, when she released the tracklist in February.
Follow Page Six’s coverage of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s whirlwind romance
The list included titles like “So Long, London,” where she lived with the actor for six years.
Sure enough, Swift roasts the actor in “The Littlest Man Ever,” “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” and other scathing songs.
However, she also highlights nostalgic moments from their time together, crooning, “You should have seen him when he first saw me.”
Swift’s songs also seem to target Healy, from “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” to “Down Bad.”
The music video for the album’s first single, “Fortnight,” features Post Malone and will be released Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
New York Post
