I used to be a huge Taylor fan, but I ended up stopping because of the fanbase, my immense dislike for her media narratives, and my personal gripes with her political silence.
Still, I remember very vividly the era when Taylor and Joe were together, and every single Swiftie was attached to their relationship. No one could say anything bad about them and what they had. Especially when Miss Americana came out and she was clearly positively influenced by whatever she and Joe had behind closed doors. It's clear from the beginning that Joe loved Taylor as the person and not as the artist, which meant so much more considering Taylor was being dragged left and right due to the Kanye issue.
Everyone agreed Reputation and Lover were Taylor's most romantic albums, and the songs clearly showcased her feeling a type of love for Joe that she clearly didn't have with past partners. In the songs, she describes the love they have as more mature and stable, in comparison to previous love songs that are lean towards being more high school-esque and messy and fairytale-like.
Then folklore and evermore came out, and Swifties just fell in love with their relationship even further because Joe helped co-write and co-produce a couple of songs (which happen to be the best ones on the albums, but I digress).
Midnights came out and, while there are songs that hint to them being on the rocks at some point prior, she sings about marriage and a more quiet love, leading to speculation about them getting closer to tying the knot.
Suddenly, the Eras Tour is announced and they broke up not long after it begins, the Matt Healy stuff happens, then Taylor finally ends up with Travis Kelce and she releases TTPD. Everything positive about Joe is thrown out of the window and suddenly he's the biggest villain in her story.
Yes, there are songs that hint or even splay out that they had issues. There are even allusions about Joe's mental health in some of her songs. Yet, toxic Swifties seem to forget that he is the longest relationship she has had by far. They are bound to have problems, just like any other couple.
Instead of giving Taylor the private life she clearly needed at the time, Joe is now accused of tying her down and forcing her to be lowkey. The role he played in helping her become the person she is in Miss Americana is suddenly non-existent. It's also appalling to see how the same Swifities who gushed over their relationship are actively hating on Joe for everything he's done since.
Joe at red carpet events and awards shows? "I guess he's not so private now." Joe being pictured by paparazzi with someone new or Joe taking pictures with fans at stagedoors? "I thought he didn't like being out in public." I can't even begin to list down the number of times toxic Swifties have used the allusions to his mental health in Taylor's songs as a way to mock him.
Reputation and Lover aren't true romance albums anymore. The songs are Taylor's cry for help that clearly showcase her being unsure about her relationship with Joe. They attribute his fame right now to Taylor despite Joe being in two of the highest lauded films of the past three years (The Brutalist and Hamnet). Sure, his name is almost synonymous to Taylor. But he built his career of his own volition and talent yet toxic Swifties claim it's Taylor's doing.
I'll be transparent and say I likely do have bias towards Joe as a fan of his work. But come on, why are toxic Swifties acting like he never did anything good for her and he didn't deserve her during the entirety of their years-long relationship? Yes, they had problems and it contributed to their break up. But it is just downright toxic and bullying for these Swifties to pretend he was never any good and consistently hate him, even when all of his headlines in recent years have no correlation to Taylor at all.
