Following the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift fans have resurfaced their anti-John Mayer sentiment, if it ever truly subsided. For those unfamiliar with Swift’s extensive discography or those still harboring animosity towards Jake Gyllenhaal as they blast “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” it is widely believed that the heart-wrenching breakup ballad “Dear John” from the “Speak Now” album was directed at Mayer. The two musicians dated from 2009 to 2010 when he was 31 years old and she was just 19.
If the revised lyrics in “All Too Well” – “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine. And that made me want to die” – prompted Swifties to inundate Gyllenhaal’s Instagram comments section in November 2021, one can only imagine their response upon being reminded of the biting chorus from “Dear John”: “Dear John, I see it all now that you’re gone Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with? The girl in the dress, cried the whole way home I see it all now that you’re gone Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with? The girl in the dress wrote you a song You should’ve known.”
Swift herself referred to the track as the “most scathing” she has ever written, and her former flame Taylor Lautner playfully mentioned that he was “praying for John” ahead of the re-release. It’s not surprising if John Mayer feels uneasy about the situation, and recent events seem to indicate that is indeed the case.
While Mayer didn’t directly mention his ex during a recent show in Boulder, Colorado, he sent a message by illuminating the words “Please Be Kind” in bright purple lights in the sky. Coincidentally, purple is the color associated with Swift’s “Speak Now” era. A photo capturing the moment was shared as the final slide of Mayer’s latest Instagram slideshow on July 6.
Swift’s fervent fans have responded in the comments section of Mayer’s post, disregarding their favorite artist’s call for kindness. Back in June, during a surprise performance of “Dear John” on her Eras Tour in Minneapolis, Swift had specifically requested “kindness” and “gentleness” from her fanbase, particularly in their online interactions.
In fan-recorded videos from the concert on June 24, Swift expressed her desire for the positive energy to extend to the internet. She shared, “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 any artist who has the desire to own their music should be able to. That’s why I’m putting out this album.”
Continuing her message, Swift emphasized, “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 am not putting this album out so you should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I wrote a song about 14 million years ago when I was 19.”
Unfortunately, both celebrities’ requests have seemingly fallen on deaf ears. One user responded to Mayer’s post with the comment, “It’s over for you, John Mayonnaise💜🥱 speak never💜,” while another fan rejected the appeals made by both artists, bluntly stating.