Welcome to the literary rooms of THE Department of Tortured Poets. On April 19, Taylor Swift released her 11th album, the first taste of her tenure as a faded poet with a possible coffee addiction. (Ahem, the brown-stained edges on the writings displayed in her library.) True to her songwriting tradition, Swift draws musical inspiration from those close to her on this project. In fact, some fans think she might have been thinking of Selena Gomez on the album’s title track…but not in a good way.
On the song “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift sings about how disorienting one of her past relationships was. She details a conversation she had with her ex beau — who fans think might be Matty Healy — in the second verse, and its subject matter seems specific to Gomez. Swift sings:
“You smoked then ate seven chocolate bars / We said Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist / I scratch your head, you fall asleep like a tattooed golden retriever.”
Charlie Puth’s line confused Gomez’s fans, who are aware of her strange history with Puth. It all started in January 2016, when Gomez and Puth announced their collaboration “We Don’t Talk Anymore” on Snapchat. This video sparked rumors that the two were dating, but Gomez denied the rumors. E! that same month.
Despite Gomez’s response, romance rumors only grew after the release of “We Don’t Talk Anymore” in August 2016. At the time, many people thought the track was about the ex of Gomez, Justin Bieber, whom she broke up with in 2012. There were also rumors that Bieber and Gomez secretly got back together in 2015, but that was put to rest once he went public with his wife , Hailey, in January 2016.) Yeah, it’s… a lot – but it’s only getting more complicated.
In 2018, Puth surprisingly changed his tune and revealed that the rumors were true. “I don’t kiss and tell, but the only way a song like [“We Don’t Talk Anymore”] can seem real if there is something else going on behind the scenes,” he said. Billboard. “That’s what was happening. [with Gomez]. Very ephemeral, very small, but very impactful. A source close to Gomez claimed the two “never dated” shortly afterward.
Puth also released “Attention” that same year, a song that many fans thought was also about Gomez. In a video explaining the song’s lyrics, Puth said it was inspired by someone who repeatedly invited her to “sleep over” but then “nothing would happen.” He never addressed the topic of the track until March 2023, when he randomly said, “The focus is on what you think it’s about,” on X (formerly known as from Twitter). He later deleted the tweet.
It’s unclear where Puth and Gomez’s relationship stands; However, this disorienting timeline left a bitter impression on his fans. Additionally, because Gomez and Swift have such a close friendship, many users didn’t appreciate her lyrically praising Puth. Tortured poets. One person called the lyrics “weird” while another brought up a 2020 Swift quote about “protecting Gomez from those who hurt her,” hinting that their friendship may not be as narrow as it seems.
Meanwhile, some fans think Swift wasn’t overshadowing the Rare singer at all. (It is important to know that Swift wrote Tortured poets (over a year ago, and the two friends have publicly hung out at events during the same time period.) In fact, they have insinuated that Gomez and Puth might be on good terms since her younger sister, Gracie, took a photo with him at the Champions. for children in 2022.
Neither Gomez nor Swift have responded to the theories.
