Taylor Swift’s Ex John Mayer Posted a Not-So-Subtle Message to Fans Amid ‘Dear John’ Re-Release
Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend John Mayer shared a pointed message right as the re-recording of Swift’s Speak Now album came out: “Please be kind.”
Mayer included the note in an Instagram carousel from his Boulder, Colorado show last night, the same night that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) dropped. The album includes a re-recording of Swift’s song “Dear John,” which is believed to be about her and Mayer’s brief relationship when she was 19 and he was 32. (Swift called “Dear John” the “most scathing” song she has ever written in the prologue note she included in her re-release of the album.)
The last image in Mayer’s post included the kindness message (coincidentally spelled out in Speak Now-colored purple lights). Mayer has not said anything more about the album.
John Mayer and Taylor Swift in December 2009.
His post also comes after Swift herself told fans not to bully Mayer at her Eras concert on June 24. She said:
“I get to stand on stage every night of this tour and watch the most beautiful things happen. Like, I watch you guys make friends with each other. I watch you bond. I watch you give each other friendship bracelets. I see so many beautiful interactions happen, and I hear so many stories about friend who were made at these shows, and I watch it happen. And it’s the most unbelievable thing to watch. So 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. Right? So what I’m trying to say is, I’m putting this album out because I want to own my music, and I believe that anyone who has the desire to own their music should be able to. That’s why I’m putting all this out.
“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. So what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 million years ago. I do not care [about what happened to me then anymore].”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
