2017 was a different kind of year for Taylor Swift. She still made tens of millions of dollars and sold a lot of music, but Tay-Tay was still dealing with the hangover of 2016’s Receipts. I’m not saying that as any kind of shade – I’ve listened to Reputation, and there are references to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West woven through the lyrics of many songs. Arguably, her first single “Look What You Made Me Do” was completely about the Receipts as well, even if I found Taylor’s message to be… strained, let’s say. Throughout the entire year, Taylor was also with “Handsome” Joe Alwyn, and he became her “muse” for many of the love songs on Reputation, although I’m still arguing that many of the songs started out as songs about Calvin Harris or Tom Hiddleston, and she kept rewriting them so they would be about Handsome Joe too.
Anyway, here are some photos of Handsome Joe arriving a LAX on Thursday. He was seen and photographed flying out of Heathrow in London earlier on Thursday too – he flew first-class, he didn’t fly on Taylor’s private jet. According to the Daily Mail, he spent some time over the Christmas holiday in London, likely with his family. Considering he flew first-class on a commercial airline, I think it’s safe to say that Taylor was not in London with him over Christmas. She was probably in LA with her family, or maybe in Nashville, who knows? They obviously decided to meet up, post-Christmas, in LA.
So what will 2018 bring for JoeTay? I don’t know. I think all of the “sources” claiming that Handsome Joe is The One are probably wrong about everything. I think JoeTay will stay together-ish through her tour, probably, and then they’ll be over and then who knows? Either that or they’ll break up just before her tour. In any case, I haven’t given Handsome Joe enough credit: he has really great hair. Taylor has a thing for guys with great hair, doesn’t she?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Prefer Tom!
Same. I liked having fun gossip to care about. This Joe fellow does nothing for me (which is ultimately irrelevant because I don’t have to date him lol).
God. Forbid.
Tom comes off like a really nice guy so I agree.
Although I don’t think this guy is bad looking and Kaiser is right, he does have great hair. But he always looks kind of pissy. lol
Poor kid. I thought he would’ve bailed by now.
And yes, Kaiser, many of those songs were written with Hiddles in mind and switched up to fit the current narrative. No wonder he was blindsided. 🐍🐍
Thanks, as always, for your caustic insight.
You know this is a leak from her team, nobody was caring what this kid was doing this time last year. I thought she wanted privacy????? He looks just like Taylor would if she was a guy. They both have all the right features to be attractive, but something just doesn’t add up.
He looks better here than I’ve ever seen him look. He still looks super young for her.
“They both have all the right features to be attractive, but something just doesn’t add up”
THANK YOU for putting into words what bothers me about both of them! So true.
Yes. It’s a bit odd, isn’t it? I was reading a book the other day where one of the characters was described as “almost handsome”, with all the ingredients of good looks but somehow there was something that caused him to fall just short of the goal. That’s what these two remind me of.
You must be joking ? no matter what you wanna say about her, Taylor is a beautiful woman.
@Lucy Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You may very well find her attractive, I don’t. Not a big deal.
Fair enough! 🙂
Beauty is also from the inside out, so, no.
Ugly is as ugly does.
I used to find her attractive but not lately. She lost all her looks.
She has a huge, ugly ego judging by her petty behaviour. And huge rather unattractive veneers imo.
He is not handsome. He looks like Milo Yiannopoulos.
Gotta agree, I just don’t see the handsome in this one. To each their own.
His eyes are creepily large. I’m not a fan. He could be okay, if his features were scaled correctly. He looks like a sim with his eyes dialed all the way up.
His face manages to be both angular and flat at the same time. It’s just odd.
Taylor’s idea of privacy is to keep the world informed of everything she does while proclaiming she wants privacy
Exactly.
He has really bad RBF.
Holding something in face.
Resting ‘British’ Face? 😉
LOL. Great username! “I was raised in Inja.”
Susie, haha. I always think of that scene when I see her screen name 😂🤣
I agree, it’s a good one!
If you look at the pictures on Lainey, there is a better balance of him looking non-bitchy, though he does look quite annoyed in several, lol.
I really don’t find “Handsome Joe” all that handsome. Am I the only one?
According to online comments no you are not. It doesnt help that he is sold to us as gorgeous which only leads to people having higher expectations.
I find him “creepy Joe” not handsome at all
He’s an unusual looking young man, but most beautiful people are slightly odd looking anyway.
He’s also extremely talented. Just really awful taste in women, apparently.
I just came to say the same. Currently, there are a bunch of really gorgeous male models, he’s definitely not one of them.
Why is he called Handsome Joe and not Gorgeous Joe since the embarrassing song about him is titled “Gorgeous”? When they split up, he will regret being the subject of all those gushy, vomit-inducing lyrics.
That song was originally about Tom Hiddleston. 🐍 changed it when she found her next victim.
He looks like a male version of Cate Blanchett to me. But I find her beautiful and him completely bland and plain. He isn’t ugly, but he also isn’t attractive. Taylor Swift has that same quality to me.
He looks like the tragic consumptive brother of the hero in a Victorian melodrama.
MagnoliaRose, I just spit out my drink! Too funny. I think these are some of the best pictures I’ve seen of him, but he’s just average to me.
You’re not the only one. I don’t get it as well. Every photo of him I see, I want to hand him soap and a wash cloth for his face and ears, I don’t know why.
He doesn’t look as young as he usually does, but that pissed off scowling expression makes him very unattractive
So true, especially when this must have been set up, why else would the paps care about his plans?
Also, at first glance I thought the straps of his backpack were ‘cold shoulder’ cut-outs and I started laughing so hard!
So did I! 😂😂
So performative! Feels like he’s playing the role of pap-hating STAH in a Hallmark Channel movie.
I will say: he looks the most…(let’s go with)…”manly” he’s ever looked in that bottom pic.
Well at least he doesn’t look 12 here so that’s a positive.
But yea I’ve completely forgotten that she even released an album. The saturation has not been as heavy. And I wonder if it’s becuase the singles have not been megahits like the ones from 1989.
I don’t know if her newest songs were megahits, but every time I go to Target or Subway, I cringe because one of those songs are playing. When I told a Target employee it was awful music, he groaned and said it’s on all day
makes sense she has a thing with target as they released her “magazines”. but yea for some reason i don’t feel the super hit like i did with 1989
Wow! This guy is charisma personified.
I just can’t get over the fact he is her spitting image.
Huh. I actually really like Joe on these pictures. He’s not what I’d consider traditionally pretty. Not particularly ‘golden retriever’ type beauty that HW and entertainment so prefers. And I’m in no place to comment on his RBF either, given that I have one myself and it’s -exhausting- when people keep commenting on it as if my neutral expression’s ruining their day.
Anyway, can we consider Tay’s new album a success? I don’t think we can. She really tried but it was like a flash for a moment and then it was just sad sizzle and then silence.
it went #1 in 14 countries and was the best selling album of the year in multiple countries.. that’s not a success?
I think “success” is relative here. Anything Taylor Swift put out was going to break records. But considering how much play 1989 got, this one has fallen a bit flat – to her standards.
Also, and this definitely doesn’t matter when looking at the numbers, but the reason this album sold so much for her was because fans bought so many copies each. With 1989, lots of people bought the album and gave it great word of mouth. Less people bought reputation. Virtually no one I know listens to it and we all liked 1989 well enough. And I know saying “no one I know” doesn’t account for much, as people are obviously listening to it..but I guess my point is that her mega fans went way hard on reputation, where as the public as a whole generally liked 1989, hence why it was everywhere for so long.
Taylor Swift is Star Wars of musicians. What would be considered resounding success for any other singer can be an underwhelming success for her. Although I am not convinced this album have been unsuccessful. We’ll see with next single how it will go for her.
@Gabbie of course she’s still successful, she has a crazy amount of stans that will buy anything she puts out. However, the rest of the public is not buying it as much they were for her previous albums. Look at the iTunes Charts. Her singles aren’t even in the top 20. Her album is like #4. In general, yes that’s still successful. But 1989 was #1 for like months and her singles were overlapping each other. She’s not as successful as she was prior. She hasn’t even sold out her tour yet.
Her album became the top selling album of the entire year in its first week (per Billboard). I think objectively, that is successful. It’d be hard to make the argument that the best selling album of the year was a failure.
I don’t like her music for the most part, but she does sell.
I was just saying the same. We know her fans bought 4 copies of her album for that ticket thing (stupid) so that inflates numbers which is not as impressive. I also feel like more DIFFERENT people bought 1989. Her singles were successful. The only single I know by name is the first and I couldn’t sing the chorus for the song. Which is not typical because even when i didnt like her music i knew her big stuff
Her first two singles from Reputation have already peaked and are now in the bottom half of the Hot 100 and dropping. End Game is at #42 and climbing, but not exactly burning up the charts. I noticed Last Christmas by Wham is at #43 – that song is almost thirty years old (and still better than any of Swift’s music).
I agree. The singles didn’t catch on like previous ones… I think Getaway Car is her only shot at a big hit for this album.
No, it isn’t. There is no buzz or excitement around it though I think it is because she is still overexposed and has a limited fanbase. The public is on to her strategy, so it seems stale. She wants to stay out of politics and social commentary, but these aren’t good times for that stance. The alt right connection is still a thing, and she gets a lot of negative press.
She’s one of the most disliked celebrities, and it doesn’t help her draw new fans.
A whole new approach should take place next time to reinvent her image.
It will be easier to judge the public’s love for her new music by how packed her stadium tours end up. Yes, her fans bought multiple copies of her album, something that very unlikely happened with Adele. But I doubt one person will buy multiple concert seats, unless they are REALLY into throwing lots of money down the drain. So it will be interesting to see the crowds for her concerts.
The ironic thing about Taylor Swift and her epic fame is that none of her music is memorable, timeless or not going to date. She will not enter the public conscious as anyone of note in the long term. She’s like the Debbie Gibson of today, and can only dream of being a Madonna who will leave a legacy of super memorable music some of which enter popular culture as classics. The fuss over Taylor is completely unjustified.
i’m not sure she’s dealing with any hangover, she had the best selling album of 2017 and she reached it within the first four days. i think she’s alright.
Considering she’s a narcissist with no conscience, yeah, she’s doing great. 🐍
P.S.- success isn’t always measured by notoriety and material gain. Just FYI.
Great comment.
He’s a cute kid. He looks … normal. Like a college kid on his way home from break. He does have RBF, but I do too so I can’t fault him for that. I literally have to remind myself to smile sometimes because I get in my own little world and my RBF makes people ask what’s wrong lol
He looks better in these pics, but also way too much like Taylor, they could easily be cousins or siblings.
He has the most amazing case of male RBF I’ve ever seen. Bless his heart.
I’m sorry, as far as I am concerned, the idea that Alwyn is “fulfilling” Swift as a woman is so ludicrous as to beggar description. I mean – honestly!
He’s hot. Like his RBF. Would date.
He looks like what would happen if Draco Malfoy and Ed Norton made a baby.
Lol!! So true. It’s beyond perfect, especially as his RBF is definitely similar to Edward Norton’s expression but just extra angsty.
He’s…tall. That’s all I got.
His eyes look dead.
He has dead eyes. Like serial killer 🙂
I guess this is how exhausing it is to date Taytay. He is fine but in no way gorgeous and judging by the songs, not really a muse
He looks like a vampire from True Blood.
What a resting b face this kid has. I don’t find him remotely attractive / but then, he is not my boyfriend. I like a little more charisma and mischievousness in a man
The guy is attractive in a bland way. He can act probably, but there’s zero charisma. He doesn’t have ‘it’.
Hiddleston has charisma and personality.
Damian Lewis is far more interesting.
Rufus Sewell is Rufus!! I still remember seeing him for the first time in Middlemarch and going ‘wow! Who is that?’
That young man has a long way to go. He’s still a little unripe.
I saw all his two movies. For me he isn;t a good actor – really wooden and with 0% charisma. And this dead eyes. Well Ta Tay contract toy boy is his only role now. I don’t see him as a big name in HW. There is a lot guys, even Brits, in his age who are far better and had a career. He will be forgotes as soon Snake cancel him as BF.
He’s needs to tighten up the sides of that cut. He definitely is veering dangerously close to old man mushroom head territory.
He looks like a petulant sixth former, Taylor can keep him!
As for calling him handsome, with a mardy face on like that LOLWUT??
He’s bland, but a bland boyfriend/husband who won’t outshine Taylor is what she needs. She needs someone who won’t look like a stunt. I’m sorry but I think Joe’s gonna stay for a while. They’ve been dating for well over a year now, (longer if you buy into the theory that she was actually with Joe since the Met Gala meeting and just used Tom to make sure Joe wasn’t tainted by the summer of 2016 sh!tstorm) he’s the longest boyfriend he’s ever had. I wouldn’t be shocked if she marries him. She dedicated an entire album to how amazing there relationship is, she has to go through with the relationship now. She alluded to an engagement several times in the songs. And she’s not gonna do much better to be honest. It’s not like anyone high up will want to date her after the Hiddleswift failure. Unless she wants to marry a music producer or someone incredibly wealthy, she’s not gonna find someone in the entertainment industry willing to settle down with her.
Also, I think maybe some of the songs on the album were about Calvin and then turned into Joe songs, but Tom. Nah. If you look her lines about him from Getaway Car and I Did Something Bad, Taylor makes it perfectly clear she had no real feelings towards him and was just using him. Calvin is a maybe, cause I think she was in love with him and hurt by him, Dancing with Our Hands Tied is certainly about Calvin in my opinion and I suspect End Game might be as well. Most of the songs were written though in the fall of 2016/winter 2017 so they would mostly be about Joe.
“Taylor makes it perfectly clear she had no real feelings towards him and was just using him”. Golly, she’s a real peach isn’t she? Good luck Joe, you’re gonna need it.
Yea I mean I didn’t say she was completely nice. She’s cutthroat as any and will use what she can to get what she wants. She used Tom 100%. Whether he was aware or not I’m unsure. I suspect he was, but who knows. She needed someone to take the fall for her during Kimye and distract from it. Tom did that. But it all backfired.
That doesn’t mean what she feels for Joe isn’t real. Obviously, if she wanted to protect him from that I suspect it means she’s serious about him.
I’m just saying, none of those love songs were written for Tom. Cause it’s obvious if you listen to the Tom songs that she didn’t have feelings for him.
👆 Jetlagged
She doesn’t feel. She uses.
The ironic part of this is… Taylor has met plenty of people who really did like her for who she is as a person, and her genuine personality. Zac Efron was one of those real sweet guys who liked Taylor more than a friend. Taylor obviously liked him back, but she didn’t know he was fwb with Collins, so she wrote Girl at Home about him, admitting she would’ve went with Efron, but, she knows what it felt like to be cheated on before, so she stopped herself.
She found out later that Efron actually wasn’t dating Collins, it was just FWB, and then she backtracked.
Regardless, Efron was one of the guys who would attend her shows and was in the crowd watching her keeping lowkey. He also at award shows, would be screaming and clapping for her, and whistling for her while smiling.
She’s HAD nice guys come into her life, she chooses the bad ones over the good ones. She has a real bad taste. Efron offers everything Joe has offered her. Lowkey relationship/and into her, gives her everything, but she flaked out on him.
‘They’ve been dating for well over a year now’- dating? He’s living with his parents in England. She’s living in US.
It’s almost as if Meghan Markle was living in the US and Harry was living in the UK. Clearly they weren’t dating.
“Joe Alwyn flew first class from London to LA probably to spend NYE at Fubar.”
Why would she use someone as a cover for seeing someone else? Is she living in the 50s, twentieth century?
So how does this work? “Mr. Alwyn, as outlined in your contract, you will be departing Heathrow on (date/time) arriving at LAX at (date/time). The PR people will have contacted the paparazzi and you will be prepped at what point and where to look, ie, smiling, annoyed, rbf, etc. Are there any questions?”
Yep.
I also love great hair on a guy. I guess Tay-Tay and I have something in common.
Bruce Willis and Ralph Fiennes also had great hair at 26. Just saying… 😉
Yep. Jude Law too – and Tom H had a wonderful head of blond curls (still has quite a lot of course, but he gets a lot of grief for his high forehead). Don’t fall in love with the hair. I hope there is more than that in her attraction. I’m sure there is and I hope they are happy together.
“Don’t fall in love with the hair”. Meghan Markle should take note.
He’s not ugly at all- he just kind of looks fragile, like a character in a turn of the century novel who’s giving a brave fight against the consumption.
Omg lol! So accurate
I thought the same but didn’t scroll to see your comment yesterday. lol
He doesn’t look healthy in an Industrial Revolution kind of way.
Why is It OK to rip this guy apart for his looks? If it was a woman people wouldnt accept it. Every post i see about him is full of comments critising his looks.
I don’t understand why Tom Hiddleston fans who are offended if Toms looks are scrutinised go after this guy for his looks. Also it’s not a competition. Even if Taylor makes it one. I don’t think we should attack the guys she gets involved with and that includes not just Tom but all of them. I mean it’s not like this guy has done or said anything bad. In fact we haven’t heard from him at all. He may be just as nice as Tom for all we know.
I think the problem is that all the general public knows about this guy is that he is “gorgeous “, which leaves the poor guy rather open. I do hope that he is a good guy and makes her happy (and vice-versa). Good luck to Joe!
Yeah, I don’t like it either. Besides, some people don’t take good pictures. I don’t because my face is not symmetrical and my nose is crooked but people consider me attractive. I try not to comment on people’s looks because that’s something you can’t help. And you never know, he might Google himself and land on an article and read the nasty comments.
Taylor has so many petty complaints about her exes. Seems she get’s really pressed over little things & makes them out to be hugely awful, and then she can’t let them go, seeking revenge through her songs. I’d say she needs a bf that’s like a rug, one she can control and walk all over, a yes ma’am kind of guy. Maybe she’s finally found one.
You know, I think I’d look happier if I’d just stepped off a First Class flight. That’s a FML face if I’ve ever seen one. And yeah, he’s not gorgeous.
He looks like her twin :O