Swiftie stans reckon they know exactly who Taylor Swift is referencing in the extended cut of her song “All Too Well”.
This weekend, Swift re-released a remastered true version of her album Red. This morning, she dropped a 10-minute-long short film based around the song “All Too Well”, starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink as “Her”, my husband Dylan O’Brien as “Him” and Taylor as an older “Her”.
Side note: sorry but Dylan being in Taylor’s video is giving me peak 2012 Tumblr energy. Anyway, it’s good stuff.
While it only dropped less than 24 hours ago, fans have already begun to theorise all of the big celeb references.
“All Too Well” follows a woman looking back on a traumatic relationship she had at 20-year-old with an older man. From the perspective of “Her”, Swift sings about feeling neglected, being at a different life stage than her partner and not relating to their friends, and struggling to navigate her first relationship.
Since the originally released version of the song first came out in 2012, fans had assumed that it was about her relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who she dated for three months in 2010.
Well now, fans reckon they have an idea of which famous celeb helped her overcome her breakup.
In the remastered supercut of the song, Swift sings: “Not weeping in a party bathroom. Some actress asking me what happened, you. That’s what happened, you.”
According to fans online, the actress in question is Friends star, Jennifer Aniston. According to an article by Daily News, Taylor confided in Aniston at the 2011 People’s Choice Awards.
Reportedly, then-41-year-old told the then-21-year-old singer in the Nokia Lounge that “everything will be okay,” and that she should “go out there and have fun”. The publication claimed that the pair had not previously met prior to the awards show but may have also bonded over their shared ex, John Mayer.
Over on Twitter, people are making memes acting as if the theory is true and an open secret.
JENNIFER ANISTON TOLD TAYLOR SWIFT TO HANG IN THERE AFTER HER BREAK UP WITH JAKE AND SHE’S THE ACTRESS WHO SAW HER WEEPING IN THE BATHROOM AND ASKED WHAT HAPPENED IM CRYINGGG #RedTaylorsVersion #AllTooWellTenMinuteVersion pic.twitter.com/6s6GzpJEkr
— KC ✨ (@rachelsgreen_) November 12, 2021
If my theory was right that it was Jennifer Aniston who comforted Taylor Swift weeping in the bathroom that means it happened during this night 😭 #RedTaylorsVersion #AllTooWellTenMinuteVersion pic.twitter.com/yp4YOREmc0
— KC ✨ (@rachelsgreen_) November 13, 2021
jennifer aniston reading taylor swift called her “some actress” pic.twitter.com/rimu5FYu5b
— mj (@emsbIunt) November 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/filmsexual/status/1459329813622099978
Jennifer Aniston comforting Taylor Swift in the party bathroom: pic.twitter.com/nHnXZmPciQ
— KC ✨ (@rachelsgreen_) November 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/MagsAccursia/status/1459356577761218567
So.. Jennifer Aniston is the “actress” mentioned by @taylorswift13 in “All Too Well (10 Min Version)”
— jannine kate (@janninekate13) November 13, 2021
jennifer aniston walking into taylor swift crying in the bathroom will forever live rent free in my mind
— bruna louise (@anadiearmas) November 12, 2021
Taylor Swift when some actress asked her what happened while weeping in the party bathroom pic.twitter.com/dZW692TPDY
— 🐂 (@bigbuckytrucky) November 12, 2021
When E! News reached out to Jennifer Anniston’s rep for comment, they declined. Now that’s interesting. Very interesting. Taylor Swift’s rep reportedly did not answer at the time of publishing.
Swift has never explicitly stated who Red is mostly about, but given the context, many believe it’s Jake Gyllenhaal. That said, a year after the album dropped in 2013, she told New York Magazine that the man the album refers to listened to it and told her it was “a really bittersweet experience”.
Many believe that the line “And I left my scarf there at your sister’s house” refers to a night Taylor and Jake visited Maggie Gyllenhaal for dinner. However, in an interview with Andy Cohen, the Donnie Darko actress said she didn’t know anything about a scarf or where it might be located.
Anyway, if this is true, then Taylor seemingly absolutely drags Jake Gyllenhaal for dating younger women at the end of the song when she sings: “And I was never good at telling jokes but the punchline goes: I’ll get older but your lovers stay my age”.
You can stream the song yourself on Spotify and Apple Music.
