Jake Gyllenhaal is reluctantly breaking his silence over ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift’s song “All Too Well.”
Swift’s re-release of Red (Taylor’s Version) in November, with an extended version of the song, thought to be about her brief 2010 romance with the actor, set off all new speculation about their breakup and who has the scarf. Jake, who turned off comments amid the attack of the Swifties, who also targeted his sister Maggie, was asked about it by Esquire.
“It has nothing to do with me,” he replied. “It’s about her relationship with her fans. It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don’t begrudge anyone that.”
Pressed, Jake, who has been dating French model Jeanne Cadieu since 2018, said it didn’t bother him or his life even though he turned off the comments. And he said he didn’t listen to the album.
However, he seemed to suggest Swift — who has admitted she writes about her exes, but never divulges who a song is about — should have called off the attack.
“At some point, I think it’s important when supporters get unruly that we feel a responsibility to have them be civil and not allow for cyberbullying in one’s name,” he said without naming Swift, who has been dating Joe Alwyn for over four years.
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Jake continued, “That begs for a deeper philosophical question. Not about any individual, per se, but a conversation that allows us to examine how we can — or should, even —take responsibility for what we put into the world, our contributions into the world. How do we provoke a conversation? We see that in politics. There’s anger and divisiveness, and it’s literally life-threatening in the extreme.”
He said he wasn’t suggesting his life was threatened over the song’s re-release and the new video.
“My question is: Is this our future? Is anger and divisiveness our future? Or can we be empowered and empower others while simultaneously putting empathy and civility into the dominant conversation?” he asked. “That’s the discussion we should be having.”
Jake said the whole thing made him realize how wonderful his life is — outside social media attacks.
“I’m not unaware that there’s interest in my life,” he said. “My life is wonderful. I have a relationship that is truly wonderful, and I have a family I love so much. And this whole period of time has made me realize that.”
He did speak a little about Cadieu as well, revealing, “In a lot of ways, we’re family, I’m in a relationship that is full of love and support. I feel so at ease.”
