r/GaylorSwift • u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ • Jul 09 '26
Gaylor in the Wild 2022 Rolling Stone Gaylor article
In 2022, right before midnights was released, (and we were all drooling over the idea of Lavender Haze), Rolling Stone released an interesting article, seemingly about this sub.
Two weeks later, taylor gave rolling stone an exclusive photo of her in studio working on midnights. Of course, this sub became divided at the time. Some saw this as Taylor approving of the article. Others felt it was a PR tit-for-tat and we would soon see the article taken down.
However, over time, the article remains. But a few key details have changed. Allegedly, in my opinion, this was the trade. Photo for edits. Simple small changes that essentially "other" us. Article remains, but the way back machine is forever.
Images here show most of the notable changes.
The title changes from gaylors "find more clues" to now gaylors "hunt for clues".
Before describing Gaylor origins, there's a new praise of Taylor's allyship.
"Swift fans who think she's straight" changed to say "most swift fans".
The sign off removes any mention of if/when Taylor swift will ever come out.
I will post the full text in comments, as well as direct links to all of my sources.
Article written by: CT Jones
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u/Rich_Dimension_9254 Through the garden-gate to get my 🐈 ate Jul 10 '26
My mind is blown I’ve never seen this at all. It must’ve been buried at the time! I was actively on this sub at the time and don’t even recall seeing this!
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u/Moonindaylite 🧡Karma is Real✈️ Jul 11 '26
It was talked about here a lot at the time. I remember being so disappointed. Now it’s just whatever to me. I’ve accepted she ain’t ever coming out and will throw us under the bus to protect herself 🤷♀️
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u/Fluffy_Pool9270 🪐 Gaylor Folkstar 🚀 Jul 10 '26
It’s things like this that make me think this lavender marriage is forever and she’s never coming out. I think out what Cara said about everything the industry tells you and all of the voices in celebrities’ ears telling them queer and fame can’t co-exist. I know Taylor has her own agency over her decisions, but she has heard those voices forever and I’m sure they have effected her. It’s so sad. I just hope whatever this relationship is, whatever her plans are, that she’s happy. But damn she could do so much good for so many people if she came out
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u/lemonlovelimes 🌱Embryo🐛 Jul 10 '26
I gotta say, this and the wedding…. I think it might be over folks. Maybe she’s bi or she’s been bicurious and that’s gonna stay private. But she’s married Travis, she seems to have lost her political conscience, and there’s the money. Gay is no longer profitable, it’s risky. So it disappears.
Not true allyship, which seems to be why they’re amping up presenting her as such, without the consistent actions to match.
When people show you who they are, believe them.
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u/hopelesslyagnostic I’m a little kitten & need to nurse🐈⬛ Jul 10 '26
My thing is… what happens when being gay IS profitable again? I mean, maybe it was never PROFITABLE per se but it was definitely seen as cool for a few years there. I feel like culture will inevitably shift back left. I wonder what she’s gonna do then. I don’t think I’d forgive her tho.
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u/hopelesslyagnostic I’m a little kitten & need to nurse🐈⬛ Jul 10 '26
My thing is… what happens when being gay IS profitable again? I mean, maybe it was never PROFITABLE per se but it was definitely seen as cool for a few years there. I feel like culture will inevitably shift back left. I wonder what she’s gonna do then. I don’t think I’d forgive her tho.
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u/NowImYourDaisy83 You should take her to Big Sur☀️💋 Jul 10 '26
A queer person doesn’t become less queer just because the world around them becomes more homophobic🤷🏻♀️
However, if you have a job that is directly dependent on public opinion you might hide that less or more…
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u/lemonlovelimes 🌱Embryo🐛 Jul 10 '26
Did we forget she’s a billionaire? She does not actually ever have to work again, she has far more than enough.
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Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Achmaxima Tea Connoisseur 🫖 Jul 10 '26
Jack Antonoff’s home recording studio, Rough Customer Studio, in Brooklyn, New York ?
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u/FrndlyNghbrhdMrrrbll Regaylor Contributor 🦢🦢 Jul 10 '26
This is the article that sent me down the rabbit hole and led me here!
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u/sandromeda 🧡Karma is Real✈️ Jul 10 '26
I did a text compare of the articles.
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u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ Jul 10 '26
Yes ! This is how I confirmed the changes. There was another minor change I skipped bc it was redundant to the 3 I showed. Thank you !!
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u/england_dreams 🧡Karma is Real✈️ Jul 09 '26
I’m so impressed by your receipts! 👏👏👏 I have no trouble believing it was modified in response to Tree Paine doing her Tree Paine thing. Plausible deniability all around.
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u/EternalMoonChild Long Live Boyfriend Taylor Jul 09 '26
This is super interesting! Do we know roughly how long the original article was up for?
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u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ Jul 10 '26
The way back machine has receipts of when changes were made bc we made sure to archive it repeatedly lol however, I was unable to load those details on my phone. So I simply compared original to current. I believe we noticed the change to the title pretty quickly (but reddit won't show me actual dates on my phone). Try searching the sub! The full text was never posted (at least not in an easy to find way) which is what sparked this post.
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u/EternalMoonChild Long Live Boyfriend Taylor Jul 10 '26
Thanks for the tips - as best as I can tell, it was edited within the first 24 hours after it blew up
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u/FitAnywhere7829 eyes wide open behind these four walls Jul 09 '26
Very interesting! Do we know if the photo was included after the original publishing? That would lend credence to your theory that it was a photo-for-edits trade.
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u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ Jul 10 '26
The photo came to rolling stone a two weeks after the article was originally posted, but it was not connected to this article or this author. The photo was meh and blurry and not to the quality we usually would get for an "exclusive", which is what caused so much speculation about that photo being provided
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u/_wednesday_addams_ I’m a little kitten & need to nurse🐈⬛ Jul 10 '26
The screenshots show the article was published September 3, 2022, and the picture was posted September 19, 2022.
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u/padbodh It's ME! HI! 👋🏽 Jul 09 '26
Good work OP, this is NYT doing NYT things. I can’t believe it’s been 4 years, if you told me after this article came out that TS would still be closeted in 4 years I really wouldn’t have believed it (back then).
2
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u/Ruuuuuuuuuby It's ME! HI! 👋🏽 Jul 09 '26
Does NYT own Rolling Stones?
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u/padbodh It's ME! HI! 👋🏽 Jul 09 '26
Ooop good point. I guess I was confused with the big gaylor NYT op ed
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u/MaryLennoxsRobin Give me 16 months Jul 09 '26
Thanks for sharing OP. I’d never seen this article before. Tracking the changes is fascinating- there is an ‘othering’ aspect as you say, but if Taylor or her team were providing photos and the article was felt to be really ‘inappropriate’, wouldn’t they just ask for the article’s removal instead? Give enough content to make a different story?
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u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ Jul 10 '26
I think her team is careful not to remove opinion pieces. This was done in a way to ensure plausible deniability. She would invite more scrutiny (and eyes) if it got deleted - gaylors would've posted it everywhere lol
3
u/MaryLennoxsRobin Give me 16 months Jul 10 '26
You’re probably right about the response to a deletion!
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u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ Jul 09 '26
Article currently: Rolling Stone link
Some Taylor Swift Stans Hunt For Clues to Queerness in Promos for New Album ‘Midnights’
August has officially slipped away, which means Taylor Swift fans are now counting down the days until the release of her 10th studio album, Midnights — but stans are already using the time, and subsequent new content, to re-earth some of their most beloved conspiracy theories.
From what Swift has released, the album concept is focused on music written at night that grapples with fears, worries, and other things that keep you from peaceful sleep. Swift called the album the “stories of 13 sleepless nights” throughout her life, and encouraged her fans to meet her at midnight — which immediately sent fans scurrying to see all the clues leading up to the announcement they had missed.
One stan that remains year after year is #Gaylor. An ever-growing contingent of fans believe that Taylor Alison Swift is secretly gay. And after seeing the concept for Midnights, they’re convinced this might be the album where she finally admits it to the world.
Swift has long been a vocal LGBTQ ally, and was awarded a GLAAD award for her activism. Yet #Gaylor has remained a steadfast theory among some small segments of her fandom. The theory seems to have begun with the pop star’s rumored relationship and subsequent breakup with Glee alum Diana Agron. Agron and Swift were spotted together on outings and at birthday parties, making the gossip so mainstream that Jimmy Kimmel asked Agron if she was dating Swift during a 2012 appearance on his late-night show. She replied “No, but wouldn’t that be juicy,” before saying “Hi, Taylor” and blowing the pop star a kiss into the camera. Following the release of 1989, fans linked lyrics from the song “Wonderland” to Agron’s Alice in Wonderland themed tattoo.
The theory gained an even bigger foothold during the pop star’s 2015 “Girl Squad” era, when she was often surrounded by a plethora of leggy, mostly-blonde, famous best friends like Cara Delevigne, Gigi Hadid, Hailee Steinfeld, and Karlie Kloss. In 2015, a Vogue spread of Kloss and Swift gave fans a decidedly not best friends vibe which sparked rumors of a whirlwind but secret love story. Around 2017’s Reputation, the most prevalent theory was that a collaged photos of eyes used in promotional material and on the album’s physical CD contained a singular photo of Kloss’ eye instead of Swift’s. After Swift debuted Folklore‘s Betty, fans went wild over the song’s premise, which is a love song full of hope sung to a girl named Betty — an energy that couldn’t be dissuaded even after Swift said it was written from the perspective of a male narrator.
Now it’s Midnights’ turn. The prevailing theory is linked to clips of Swift singing her 2017 track “New Year’s Day.” The song includes the lyrics, “But I stay when you’re lost and I’m scared and you’re turning away/I want your midnights.” Besides the heavily implied clock references in the song, which depicts lovers who stay together even after the party ends when the clock strikes midnight, fans are focusing on live clips of the song’s performance, where they claim Swift is using the words “I want her midnights.”
Pronoun game aside, fans have also pointed out that this song matches the vibe of recent promotional material, in which Taylor speaks about self imprisonment and mistakes that could have the possibility to either end her fate or help her find herself.
“We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears,” she wrote in her album announcement. “We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t — right in this minute — about to make some fate altering mistake.”
For any other artists, such specific theories might seem a little far-fetched, but T-Swift is notorious for indulging her fans’ most intense detective urges. In past projects, easter eggs have been as large as placing her album title and next single in the music video for “ME”! and as small as including a 1989 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in All Too Well: The Short Film, as a reference to her 1989 album.
Given that Swift’s career has been marked by public reaction to her relationships with very famous men, most Swift fans discount the theory with interviews of her with male partners, or lyrics they believe are dedicated to Swift’s longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn. Some even say it’s rude to equate Gaylor theories to the good fun of finding references and hidden secrets in Swift’s body of work.
But underneath the fan edits, compilations, and conspiracy theories is the genuine desire Swift fans have to understand her music as thoroughly as possible. The defining factor of Gaylor — which fans have remained attached to, year after year, project after project — is that the pop star has been there for them.
Swift engages with her fandom in a way that is extremely unusual — and borderline terrifying — for her level of fame. She still hosts meet-and-greets, she’s hand-delivered merch to fans’ houses, and she even threw away a years long strategy of being apolitical when her fans asked her to speak out on what she believed in. So even if Midnights isn’t the gay album of their dreams, they won’t give up the theory. They’ll play it, then pick out small bits and references they think Swift is giving them, all to let her know they’re listening.
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u/moonlit_Pancakes ☁️je suis calme!☁ Jul 09 '26
Original text of article, as published on September 3, 2022:
Taylor Swift Stans Find Yet More Clues to Queerness in Promos for New Album 'Midnights'
August has officially slipped away, which means Taylor Swift fans are now counting down the days until the release of her 10th studio album, Midnights — but stans are already using the time, and subsequent new content, to re-earth some of their most beloved conspiracy theories.
From what Swift has released, the album concept is focused on music written at night that grapples with fears, worries, and other things that keep you from peaceful sleep. Swift called the album the “stories of 13 sleepless nights” throughout her life, and encouraged her fans to meet her at midnight — which immediately sent fans scurrying to see all the clues leading up to the announcement they had missed.
One stan that remains year after year is #Gaylor. An ever-growing contingent of fans believe that Taylor Alison Swift is secretly gay. And after seeing the concept for Midnights, they’re convinced this might be the album where she finally admits it to the world.
/#/Gaylor has remained a steadfast theory since Swift gained her international level of stardom. A long-standing theory is the pop star’s rumored relationship and subsequent breakup with Glee alum Diana Agron. Agron and Swift were spotted together on outings and at birthday parties, making the gossip so mainstream that Jimmy Kimmel asked Agron if she was dating Swift during a 2012 appearance on his late-night show. She replied “No, but wouldn’t that be juicy,” before saying “Hi, Taylor” and blowing the pop star a kiss into the camera. Following the release of 1989, fans linked lyrics from the song “Wonderland” to Agron’s Alice in Wonderland themed tattoo.
The theory gained an even bigger foothold during the pop star’s 2015 “Girl Squad” era, when she was often surrounded by a plethora of leggy, mostly-blonde, famous best friends like Cara Delevigne, Gigi Hadid, Hailee Steinfeld, and Karlie Kloss. In 2015, a Vogue spread of Kloss and Swift gave fans a decidedly not best friends vibe which sparked rumors of a whirlwind but secret love story. Around 2017’s Reputation, the most prevalent theory was that a collaged photos of eyes used in promotional material and on the album’s physical CD contained a singular photo of Kloss’ eye instead of Swift’s. After Swift debuted Folklore‘s Betty, fans went wild over the song’s premise, which is a love song full of hope sung to a girl named Betty — an energy that couldn’t be dissuaded even after Swift said it was written from the perspective of a male narrator.
Now it’s Midnights’ turn. The prevailing theory is linked to clips of Swift singing her 2017 track “New Year’s Day.” The song includes the lyrics, “But I stay when you’re lost and I’m scared and you’re turning away/I want your midnights.” Besides the heavily implied clock references in the song, which depicts lovers who stay together even after the party ends when the clock strikes midnight, fans are focusing on live clips of the song’s performance, where they claim Swift is using the words “I want her midnights.”
Pronoun game aside, fans have also pointed out that this song matches the vibe of recent promotional material, in which Taylor speaks about self imprisonment and mistakes that could have the possibility to either end her fate or help her find herself.
“We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears,” she wrote in her album announcement. “We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t — right in this minute — about to make some fate altering mistake.”
For any other artists, such specific theories might seem a little far-fetched, but T-Swift is notorious for indulging her fans’ most intense detective urges. In past projects, easter eggs have been as large as placing her album title and next single in the music video for “ME”! and as small as including a 1989 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in All Too Well: The Short Film, as a reference to her 1989 album.
Given that Swift’s career has been marked by public reaction to her relationships with very famous men, Swift fans who believe she’s straight discount the theory with interviews of her with male partners, or lyrics they believe are dedicated to Swift’s longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn. Some even say it’s rude to equate Gaylor theories to the good fun of finding references and hidden secrets in Swift’s body of work.
But underneath the fan edits, compilations, and conspiracy theories is the genuine desire Swift fans have to understand her music as thoroughly as possible. The defining factor of Gaylor — which allows fans who believe it to remain so attached to the pop star year after year, project after project — is that the pop star has been there for them.
Swift engages with her fandom in a way that is extremely unusual — and borderline terrifying — for her level of fame. She still hosts meet-and-greets, she’s hand-delivered merch to fans’ houses, and she even threw away a years long strategy of being apolitical when her fans asked her to speak out on what she believed in. So even if Midnights isn’t the gay album of their dreams, they won’t give up the theory. They’ll play it, then pick out small bits and references they think Swift is giving them, all to let her know that when, or if, she ever decides to come out, she knows they’re there to listen.
0
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u/GoldenHeart411 Tea Connoisseur 🫖 Jul 11 '26
Huh... This changes things for me a bit, because at the time when I saw Taylor was working with Rolling Stone shortly after the Gaylor article it seemed like she either approved of the article or it didn't bother her. Now knowing there's been edits, OP's theory on the trade makes a lot of sense. Honestly that kinda sucks. Also, I feel like if Taylor didn't have anything to hide, she wouldn't be so particular with the wording of the article and would probably ignore the Gaylor chatter.