Jack Antonoff recently created a stir after he allegedly shut down a Dutch reporter during an interview when he was asked about his involvement in Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, which releases on April 19. He accused the reporter of “looking for clickbait,” ultimately creating the clickbait himself.
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“You know I don’t talk about that,” he told the Dutch outlet NRC. “If you’re looking for clickbait, you’ve come to the wrong place. Thank you for this conversation.”
It is well known that Antonoff and Swift have been frequent collaborators and friends for some time, so there’s no doubt that he has had a hand in her new album. He confirmed his involvement to the Los Angeles Times last month when he said he had “completed” work on the album.
He also previously spoke about his work with Swift and work on his own project, Bleachers, during the interview in question. “I don’t see it as producing. I create music with my friends. It comes as it comes,” he said. “I’m not the kind of producer to bark commands from behind a mixing board. I involve myself in the music itself; the way you can steer the creative process … Being able to listen to each other well is one thing. The artists I work with trust that I can help them make their music better.”
[RELATED: Jack Antonoff Has Words for One Specific Taylor Swift Critic, Likens Her to God]
While Jack Antonoff Stays Tight-Lipped About His Work, Here’s What We Know About Taylor Swift’s New Album
Taylor Swift announced The Tortured Poets Department during the GRAMMYs in February while she accepted the Best Pop Vocal Album award for Midnights. Jack Antonoff co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs on that album, and produced it as well.
He’s staying quiet about his involvement on this new album, but here’s what we know about it so far. The Tortured Poets Department drops on April 19, and fans have speculated that it centers around Swift’s previous relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. The two broke up after nearly six years due to “personality differences,” and many fans mourned the end of the relationship.
Swifties are often searching for Easter eggs in her work, and the main one for this album is in the name. Allegedly, Joe Alwyn was in a group chat with fellow actors Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called the “Tortured Man Club,” a reference to the complicated characters they play. Swifties are taking that and running with it, and while it might be a bit of a stretch, rest assured her fans will connect the rest of the dots when the album comes out.
Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
