Some Taylor Swift Fans Think Her Surprise ‘Murder Mashup’ Was Directed at Joe Alwyn
The same day Joe Alwyn broke his silence on his split from Taylor Swift, the pop star performed two murder-themed songs in Liverpool, England. Now, if there’s one things Swifties are going to do, it’s read into Swift’s surprise song lyrics, especially when there’s a mashup involved.
Remember when some fans were convinced that Alwyn cheated on Swift during their six-year relationship because she performed a combination of “Should’ve Said No” and “You’re Not Sorry” amid infidelity theories? To many, Swift’s timing seemed intentional, though she made it pretty clear she just wanted to sing “naur” with a crowd of Australians while performing in Sydney.
Well, now some fans believe Alwyn was the target of a different spicy mashup. On June 15, Swift combined Evermore’s “No Body No Crime” with “Carolina,” a song she wrote for the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing. “I’m gonna call this the murder mashup,” she said during her final Eras Tour performance in Liverpool, per fan recordings.
Murder mashup, indeed—but who was Swift’s target? The obvious answer is still Este’s murderous, cheating husband, but some fans think she might have had an ex or two in mind.
“Okay you have to give it to Taylor. A murder mashup right before she heads to London is hysterical,” one fan wrote on X.com, likely referencing Swift’s Lover track “London Boy,” which is widely believed to have been inspired by the British actor. Of course, Matty Healy is also from England’s capital, so the fan could have been thinking of him as well.
Regardless, Swift is actually scheduled to perform in Cardiff on June 18 before hitting up Whembly Stadium later this month, so this take doesn’t fully track.
Still, others felt this was Swift’s subtle response to Alwyn’s recent interview with The Sunday Times, which was published on the same day as her final Liverpool performance. “And suddenly the murder mashup makes sense now,” one fan wrote, adding, “Good for her.” Another said the timing of her performance is “funny” regardless of Swift’s intention.
During the interview Alwyn described their former relationship as “loving” and “fully committed,” which could be interpreted as a subtle response to those aforementioned infidelity theories. Otherwise, Alwyn did not reveal any personal details about the split and declined to answer if he has listened to The Tortured Poets Department.
“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,” he said. “That is a hard thing to navigate. What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it’s suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in.”
He continued, “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. 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.”
However, Alwyn did take an opportunity to deny visiting the London pub referenced in Swift’s Tortured Poets track “The Black Dog.” Now, if she chose to play that song last night, Swifties really would have had something to talk about. Alas, this “murder mashup” connection feels like another pretty big stretch.
When she’s not writing about all-things Hollywood for Glamour, Emily Tannenbaum is a screenwriter, editor, and Tomatometer-approved critic with work published in Elle, Cosmo, Vanity Fair, IGN, and more. Follow her on Twitter @ectannenbaum.
