Taylor Swift’s Ex Joe Alwyn Breaks Silence on ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Swifties speculated that Taylor Swift would rake ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn over the lyrical coals on The Tortured Poets Department. And when the album dropped in April, it did seemingly contain several references to the “Fortnight” singer’s split with Alwyn. (Although many believe Swift reserved her most biting assessments for her 2023 fling with 1975 frontman Matty Healy.) Now, the “Kinds of Kindness” actor is opening up about TTPD more than a year after the pair split.

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Has Joe Alwyn Listened to the Latest Taylor Swift Album?

Alwyn, 33, avoided giving a direct answer when asked if he had given TTPD a listen.

“I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years,” the British actor told The Sunday Times.

[RELATED: Taylor Swift’s Ex Joe Alwyn May Continue to Cash in on Relationship, Source Says]

Ending a six-and-a-half-year relationship is “a hard thing to navigate,” Alwyn said. The pair confirmed their split in April 2023, shortly after Taylor Swift kicked off her mega-successful “Eras” tour.

“So you have something very real suddenly thrown into a very unreal space: tabloids, social media, press, where it is then dissected, speculated on, pulled out of shape beyond recognition,” Alwyn said. “And the truth is, to that last point, there is always going to be a gap between what is known and what is said. I have made my peace with that.”

The “Catherine, Called Birdy” actor reiterated that he and Swift mutually agreed to keep the most intimate details of their relationship between them. “It was never something to commodify and I see no reason to change that now,” he told The Sunday Times.

Joe Alwyn Says He Has Never Been to The Black Dog

A South London pub saw a spike in business after Taylor Swift name-dropped the establishment in her TTPD track “The Black Dog.” The pop star sings about watching an ex walk into the bar “and pierce new holes in my heart.”

Alwyn swears he isn’t responsible for those particular holes. “I’ve never been to Vauxhall,” he told The Sunday Times. (The Black Dog is located at 112 Vauxhall Walk in London.)

However, Alwyn reportedly said this with “a smile that hints that there is more to say.” And The Black Dog’s owner has previously hinted at “a certain blond regular” gracing the pub.

Featured image by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Prada

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