For all my Swifites out there what’s your hot take on this topic? I assume all the responses I am about to receive will be something along the lines of “F*ck Jake Gyllenhaal” and yes I would probably agree with you under different circumstances and for assignment purposes *ONLY* I'm currently on the fence. You may be cursing my name or punching the screen at me for saying that but I must urge you to take a step down from your high pedestal and take a look from both perspectives.
I am very much aware that there are many differences both socially and substantially between the initial release of “Red” in 2012 to “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021. Taylor matured as both an artist and human being in today’s generation, whilst also regaining ownership of the music she had produced to the industry since 2004. One of the highlights of both the original release of “Red” and the re-recorded version is the “short-lived romance” of singer Taylor Swift and actor Jake Gyllenhaal. The pair first seen across the tabloids in October of 2010 never actually confirmed their relationship, dodging many direct questions with responses such as “I’m always optimistic about love” Swift told Ellen DeGeneres.
Timeline of “Red”
In 2012 the 22 track album was produced under Apollo A-1 LLC. According to Billboard, “Red” debuted at Number 1, selling 1.208 million copies in the US within its first release week. As speculation grew over the context of which songs Swift was releasing, the origins of one song in particular gained enormous media attention. “All To Well”, number 5 on the track list with over 180,000,000 streams on Spotify alone. Fan speculation around this song grew particularly from a road trip to New York and losing a red scarf, as supported through the lyrics. Although never confirmed Swift was seen wearing such an accessory over Thanksgiving of 2010 whilst visiting Gyllenhaal’s sister in Brooklyn. However fact or fiction the mystery of the red scarf may be, Gyllenhaal has been photographed wearing an almost identical accessory to the one described. In 2021 Taylor re-recorded and released “Taylor's Version” of Red and all the existing albums prior to Red. Red had over 50 million Spotify streams within its first 24 hours of re-release causing a “Global media storm”.
Swift resigned to Republic Records in 2018 and as a result of leaving her old record label; Big Machine, her masters (rights) to her music were kept at the existing company and with her old producer Scooter Braun. The below figure supports this as Swift tries to “clear things up surrounding the sale of her old masters”.
To contradict this BMLG sent Swift’s legal team an email alongside a public statement concluding that the information Swift had made public was in fact “false information” and that she has created “a narrative that does not exist” .
The Comparison
The use of social media within the 2000’s has consumed almost 2 generations, through many social media outlets including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and now the viral hit Tik Tok. As a result of both the initial “Red” release and “Red (Taylors Version)” both fans of Swift and Gyllenhaal took to the media to not only assume unconfirmed information but also began virtually attacking each other. Taylor Swift currently sits at 90.3 million Twitter followers and 207 million Instagram followers. Jake Gyllenhaal does not have a Twitter account but sits at 7.3 million Instagram followers. This only indicates the different demographic each fan base consists of. Ms Swift's fans or the “Swifties” are more predominantly active on social media, keeping up to date with release dates, new music and tour information via her main social platforms. In comparison Gyllenhaal’s fan base are supporting him based on his appearances in film, they would be getting the information surrounding casting and screening through the producers platform or movies social rather then his own. Across the board Swifites have not kept silent in terms of the Gyllenhaal scandal and to date it is still evident within media, most recently when Gyllenhaal presented the Oscars alongside American actress and friend of Taylor’s: Zoë Kravitz, taking to Twitter to relive the controversy shown in the figure below.
Personally I believe it is hardly reasonable for Swifites to be dragging Gyllenhaal nearly 10 years after the incident like Gyllenhaal’s fans they are sick of seeing a moment in time and an accessory be the main focus when Gyllenhaal crosses the screen, hosts an award show or Swift releases a new song.
Within the mix of people again however there are people who are sitting on the fence, many people taking to twitter to conclude that you can have admiration for both artists without hating the other.
For those of the population that simply find themselves floating around in the void that has been created based on a single red scarf and are simply there for a laugh, tik tok seems to be the platform where they are making lemonade out of lemons.
The Vault
The way the media and both fan bases exploded this relationship based off a song originally written by the then 22 year old pop sensation and again 9 years later when “All Too Well (10 minute version)” was taken out of the “vault” once more is phenomenal. Despite the many differences each artist holds, I believe it is time for both sides for, against, or neutral to move on. It is unfair for all parties to still withhold such controversy when both Swift and Gyllehaal have grown extremely successful in both their fields and now have existing and long standing partners of their own. A snapshot of history in the making but now after 11 years it is time for the controversy of the whirlwind romance between Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift to be locked back in the Vault.
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