Here’s Why Taylor Swift Fans Think Her New Album Is a Nod to Ex Joe Alwyn

In case The Tortured Poets Department sounds familiar to you… 👀

CYMI, Taylor Swift casually broke the internet after announcing the release of her 11th studio album upon winning the award for Best Pop Vocals at the 2024 Grammy Awards. And in case you were wondering, the general vibe was….

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when taylor swift announces a brand new album instead of reputation tv pic.twitter.com/X4aXJrCmO3

— em (@lolatnug) February 5, 2024

Taylor winning her 13th grammy and announcing a new album at the same time is so Taylor of her😩🤍🖤 #TaylorSwift https://t.co/o6OIQ4lc7U

— •Sneh• (@preeet3000) February 5, 2024

“This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number—I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that,” the musician began onstage after accepting her award.

“I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,” Taylor continued. “So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department and I’m going to go post the cover right now backstage.”

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After the initial shock wore off because, hello, we’re getting a new Taylor album (!!!), fans were quick to draw a connection between its title and the singer’s ex Joe Alwyn *and* Paul Mescal and Phoebe Bridgers. 👀 (Reminder that Taylor and Joe dated from 2017 to 2023, while Phoebe and Paul made their red carpet debut in 2021 and split in 2023.)

Why, you ask? Because back in December 2022, Joe and Paul opened up about a WhatsApp group chat they had with fellow actor Andrew Scott during a Variety Actors on Actors interview. And according to Joe, the chat’s entire ~vibe~ “is I guess a reflection on Connell [Paul’s character in Normal People] and Nick.”

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Joe Alwyn and Paul Mescal have a WhatsApp group with Andrew Scott called “The Tortured Man Club.””It hasn’t had much use recently,” Alwyn says.”I feel like we’re less tortured now,” Mescal quips. https://t.co/CSai4ScQpz pic.twitter.com/veCp1ZdFsD

— Variety (@Variety) December 15, 2022This content is imported from x. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

paul mescal and joe alwyn in the tortured man club group chat after the tortured poets department album name reveal pic.twitter.com/dgfZzAiQsm

— and my eyes see Eras Tour Concert Movie (@geniussweater) February 5, 2024

“It’s the Tortured Man Club, I think. It’s me, you—and Andrew Scott started the group,” the Conversations with Friends star added. “[Andrew is] just messaging himself good mornings. We were both in the Sally Rooney universe and crossed over with Lenny Abrahamson. We were so lucky to have that experience.”

Unclear what the meaning of all this ^^ is, but what we *do* know is that shortly after leaving the stage, Taylor shared the album cover on social media, which will be living in our minds rent-free for at least a month.

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Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re gonna go ahead and make this our screensaver, byeeeeee!