Did Jake Gyllenhaal deliberately try to troll Taylor Swift with his W Mag photos?

Jake Gyllenhaal was photographed and profiled in W Magazine’s Best Performances issue, and as you can see, this was the photo W posted on their social media and to their site: a Tim Walker photo of Jake in a RED button-down shirt, with RED heart-shaped glasses atop his head. Originally on Instagram, the IG caption read “Red (Jake’s Version)”. Taylor Swift’s snake fans flooded the comments and it got so bad that W Magazine just flat-out changed their caption:

There’s nothing like a Taylor Swift fan scorned. The pop star’s fans were seeing red after W Magazine featured her ex, Jake Gyllenhaal, posing in the fiery color for its annual “Great Performances” portfolio. The problem? The look was allegedly all too similar to Swift’s theme from her 2012 “Red” album, which featured a song about their past relationship.

“Absolutely no one is interested in Jake’s version of red… read the room,” one wrote with an eye-roll emoji as Swift’s fans were sent into a frenzy.

Photographer Tim Walker shot Gyllenhaal wearing a red shirt and heart-shaped sunglasses — similar to a pair Swift wore in her music video for “22” from the album. Coincidentally, Swift recently rereleased “Red” with the addendum (Taylor’s Version), and W dared to post Gyllenhaal’s photo on social media with the caption, “Red (Jake’s Version).”

Swifties picked up on the diss and accused the actor of trolling the pop star, since the album features the track “All Too Well” — supposedly about their 2010 romance. The singer’s fans flooded in with comments such as, “The Swifties are coming for you,” and, “He’s obsessed with Taylor.” Ouch! The mag even eventually changed its caption to stick with lauding Gyllenhaal’s performance in his film, “The Guilty.”

“For our annual Best Performances issue, the actor discusses reimagining the thriller for American audiences, being starstruck by Brad Pitt, and the one movie that always makes him cry,” it wrote.

The damage, however, had already been done as far as Swift’s fans were concerned, and they noticed the edit.

A rep for W did not acknowledge the caption switch, but exclusively told Page Six that the “sole reason” the mag put the actor “in our best performance issue is because his performance in Antoine Fuqua’s ‘The Guilty’ is phenomenal.”

[From Page Six]

This year’s Best Performances issue was full of colorful photography – Tim Walker and the W stylists put Kristen Stewart and Benedict Cumberbatch in lemon yellow, Dakota Johnson in a vibrant purple, Alana Haim is a striking gold. Jake was the only person in red though. Was that his call, or did W Magazine do that to him? I like to think that Jake does have some sense of the craziness on the internet, and he knows that the Snake Fam is prepared to swarm whenever he says or does anything related to scarves, the color red or… anything. The W Magazine intern who wrote “Red (Jake’s Version)” definitely knew they were kicking the hornet’s nest though. It’s hilarious that the magazine had to change the caption.

IG courtesy of W Magazine, additional photos courtesy of Taylor Swift.

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118 Responses to “Did Jake Gyllenhaal deliberately try to troll Taylor Swift with his W Mag photos?”

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  1. Case says:

    A couple years ago, W Magazine was acquired by an investor group led by Karlie Kloss. So yeah, there’s no doubt in my mind someone or several people were trolling Taylor here.

    • Elizabeth says:

      Well that’s a fun little tidbit for the day!

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      They’re not friends still?

      • Ainsley says:

        They had a huge falling out years ago, never said why. Supposedly her song “I forgot that you existed” is about her.
        (But also rumoured to be about Calvin Harris so who knows.)

      • Chicken says:

        I think the closest she has come to addressing it in song is one verse of “it’s time to go.”

      • Coco says:

        Isnt he gay?

    • Jules says:

      Well that is interesting. Not a fan of either Taylor or Jake, but I had to laugh at how silly he looks. It all falls under celebs are petty, thin skinned and will do anything for attention!

    • kirk says:

      So is Sara (daughter of Les) Moonves still W’s chief editor? Supposedly Sara Moonves is the one with clout to get Karlie Kloss (who quit working with Victoria Secret to align w-feminist values). Wonder if Sara is chip off old block Les (who tried to destroy Janet Jackson, started feud with Howard Stern, etc.)?

      Every time I see JG I think of his portrayal of creepy stalker crime photographer in Nightcrawler. Absolutely nailed that job.

  2. Dr+Chi says:

    Haha!! I am here for it. The magazine got what they wanted which was the attention.

  3. whatWHAT? says:

    coming on the heels of that vanity fair story from the intern on his play, this was a REALLY BAD IDEA.

    • Twin Falls says:

      This came out first. When the other article came out I looked up JG to see if news outlets had picked it up (they hadn’t) but this had already been published (and the caption changed).

      • whatWHAT? says:

        oh, didn’t realize that, thanks for the correction.

        eh, I still think it was a bad idea.

      • ohno says:

        Can someone link to this essay? I’ve done a few key word searches in google and can’t find anything.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        @ohno – I think there is a link from the Celebitchy story from a few days ago.

      • Sophia’s Sideye says:

        I think it’s this one. I hope this goes through, ohno. If it doesn’t Google, the movie star and me.

        https://medium.com/@domenicamferaud/the-movie-star-and-me-5d711ee661e3

      • SUNNYVILE says:

        I’m all for believing women and giving them safe space to let it all out but I sensed something more here! This felt likw a mix of jilted lover/disgruntled ex staff who’s no longer getting gigs!! Yes as sexual assault survivor i know that not everyone’s experiences/circumstances,awareness
        level.. et is the same and it could take some victims(i.e;church abuse victims) years to come forward to get justice but Why wait this long to share this🤔 (she could’ve gotten support to sue him/get apology during metoo movement!)
        Knowing how ruthless his agency is, I wonder if they’ll come after her for this!!

      • stagaroni says:

        @ Sunnyville, not everyone is the same, and if you are a survivor of sexual assault, you should understand. It took me decades to face my abuser, and it was someone I had to face on certain occasions. People fear retribution, they fear people not believing them, they fear losing their jobs or friends or any number of scenarios. Taylor Swift has called him out for his behavior, and now this young person has a story that is very similar. Why is it so hard to believe that a person in a position of power would take advantage of a person with no power at all? It happens ALL the time.

      • Christine says:

        You have to admit, this article coming out BEFORE the Vanity Fair article is a stunningly glorious bit of karma. Pretty much zero people in the world would have cared about JG in red and heart glasses, except the Swifties, but now? We are all rubbernecking the mess that is JG.

      • Andrew's Nemesis says:

        I didn’t get that at all, @Sunnyville. I saw someone who was desperately young, shy, lacking emotional maturity and sexual experience, who was groomed and manipulated by a practised abuser. I hate that she and so many others were treated like disposable objects by someone with vastly more experience, male privilege and toxic arrogance.

    • HelloDolly! says:

      Yeah, I am not sure I think this is clever or funny? He is mocking her youth, femininity, and/or playing with gender identity? To me, this reads as sour grapes and an older, bitter canceled man who is doing a gendered portrayal of Taylor as lesser than and insignificant, but maybe I am wrong and someone can explain its cleverness to me? (I am being 100% serious, lol. Someone explain it to me.)

      • whatWHAT? says:

        he IS mocking her, and all he’s doing is reminding everyone that he took advantage of her youth and inexperience.

      • Jais says:

        “This reads as sour grapes and an old bitter cancelled man…”
        Nailed it.

      • HelloDolly! says:

        Yeah, even the way he is holding himself and posing, it reads like he is making fun of Taylor and/or young women everywhere. His body language suggests he is trying to pose as insecure and unsure of themselves while gendered female. Honestly, this is how I imagine some of my male colleagues think of me, and I 100% think its sexist and annoying. (I am a female academic.)

      • Christina says:

        @HelloDolly, I am ASHAMED that your take was not my first impression.

        This is exactly why women are not taken seriously in professional roles, especially younger women.

        When he came after her by willing to pose this way publicly, by going after her in their professional realm, he also came after all young women trying to make it through a world that is geared towards reducing them to sex toys and doormats for men.

        I support the Swiftys today. Not always, but wholeheartedly in this. And I am grateful you asked why this was entertaining. I couldn’t come up with an acceptable answer. Each made me ashamed and more aware of my own sexism toward women, especially younger women. I survived it, and I should support change rather than reflexively thinking in terms of surviving my own experiences 20 years ago.

        Thank you.

      • HelloDolly! says:

        @Christina, oh my goodness, what a sweet reply! Well, we are all just kinda thinking through these images as we see them, right? Sometimes it takes me awhile to understand why I don’t like a certain image or rhetoric. In fact, LOL, that’s why I was 100% serious when I said in my comment, “Someone explain this to me,” because I was still thinking it through in my head, hahaha. And what’s funny is that I am not even a Swifty! I just get really annoyed by the casual sexism I see all the time!

        (you would not BELIEVE the stuff I have experienced by men not taking me seriously despite the fact that I have two MAs and a PhD in my field. My experience has made me realize that I could have 20 degrees and 20 books and still would experience bias. It’s really frustrating.)

      • whatWHAT? says:

        @Christina – good on you for thinking about this like you did.

        @HelloDolly! – you’ve had it first hand but I have read stories from women just like you’ve experienced. women who were explaining a scientific theory/idea to a group and there’s one man who is like “I don’t think you understand the conclusions from that paper by Lewis et al, you should reread it” and the woman is like “I’M Lewis of Lewis et al.” like, the mansplaining NEVER ends and is so widespread. There was another story from a comic-con type of event where some guy was trying to talk down to a woman about some movie costumes and SHE WAS THE COSTUME DESIGNER.

        that saying “Lord, give me the confidence of a mediocre white man” is no joke.

      • Truthiness says:

        Jake is also getting a lot of extra mileage against the rumors that he is in the closet for his primary preferences.

      • HelloDolly! says:

        @whatWHAT?, YES YES YES. I can’t even enumerate everything I have seen and experienced. In the middle of an interview of a new faculty member, I had to tell one of my male colleagues to stop over-questioning the woman interviewee interviewing because he CLEARLY wanted to mansplain her and was biased. I was once serving on a 3-person committee working on a project, and my two male colleagues made a decision without me about the project. When asked, my male colleagues feigned surprise, as if I wouldn’t care being excluded from my own work assignment. A couple years back, a male colleague inadvertently sent an email to the entire listserv that described me as nice but not smart. I could keep going on.

      • Cheryl says:

        Here’s my unpopular take. This is image is trolling the Taylor Swift ™ persona.

    • SarahCS says:

      That wasn’t first thought. Knowing what we now know about him it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth to see him feted like this. Ick.

    • detritus says:

      Exactly. After reading the Medium post by a young woman, I don’t think it’s particularly in good taste for any woman’s magazine to be giving him space.

  4. phlyfiremama says:

    The “product placement” of that ☕ is hilarious.

    • Case says:

      It wasn’t so much product placement as it was Taylor having something tangible to reference in songs so listeners knew it was supposed to be about him. In her liner notes for All Too Well, the secret message was “maple lattes.” She does this with every fake boyfriend — Harry was the paper airplane necklace, Tom the I Heart TS shirt, and Joe her J necklace. She references all of these in songs or videos so fans believe the songs are about who she wants them to think they’re about.

      • How do you know the boyfriends are/were fake?

      • Case says:

        @Margaret There’s a lot out there if you Google it, but basically prior to Joe Alwyn, she had an outlined PR strategy that she repeated with every guy she was with. Very clear pap walks, the tangible items that I mentioned, the length of the relationship. There’s also the fact that Calvin Harris tweeted about “growing a beard” to get a Grammy. At lot of people think it’s a bit too conspiracy theory-ish, but I think it’s completely true. People started catching on to her tried-and-true format with Tom Hiddleston, which is why she’s now so very “private” with Joe Alwyn.

      • @Case: I find the whole thing concerning because some of the stuff people have come up with about Swift and the people she dates are similar to those made up about Meghan and Harry; based on things like a bf’s expression in a particular photo or nitpicking her words in a particular interview, whole narratives get constructed that have little to do with any kind of critical thinking or objective weighing of facts.

      • I looked up the CH tweet…..ugh. It seems he implied that HE used HER to get an award, and calls it an “experiment” which seems like some serious sour grapes over the breakup.

        (Every once in a while I see this “oh I was just doing an experiment, you walked into my clever web” dodge when someone’s not doing well in a discussion online; it never fails to make me cringe in embarrassment for them.) Between this and his talking an interview like he’d never written anything with her when he had, I’m not inclined to see him as being very credible.

      • Case says:

        @Margaret — Sorry, what I’m trying to get at is that Taylor is closeted and uses PR relationships to cover it up. Hence Calvin’s “beard” comments. I think she uses beards, and I think Calvin didn’t like what he got out of the arrangement so he’s trying to expose that without breaking his NDA. I’m a huge fan of hers so I’ve spent a lot of time with her music. There are a lot of theories about this — nothing like the kind of things said about Meghan and Harry, and there’s a lot of evidence to back it up in her writing. There’s a lot of critical thinking and song analyses about this possibility online.

      • @Case: There’s a lot of wishful thinking and tinfoil hat nonsense online too. It’s as ridiculous as all the people who think every time Shawn Mendes does something that could be coded as feminine, it’s “proof” that he’s gay.

        What could Swift possibly have to gain by being in the closet at this point? Do you really think she would somehow lose her fame, not get any more awards, etc? And the beard comments were talking about HIM using HER:

        https://imgur.com/a/dxqA1N9

        It takes some poor reading comprehension skills and/or mental gymnastics to turn that into “she used me as a beard!”

  5. Div says:

    Unpopular opinion. Jake seems sleazy, but Taylor, at 22, dated a high school senior she had allegedly met when he was 17. I really don’t see how a 30 year old dating a 20 year old is that much worse than a 22 year old dating an 18 year old. Yes, the age gap is smaller but there is a whole lot of life experience that someone like Taylor had compared to a high school student. If they had both been in university, it’d be one thing…but they weren’t. And I would side even side eye a university senior or recent university graduate dating a high schooler.

    • superashes says:

      You don’t see the difference between a 22 year old dating an 18 year old and a 30 year old dating a 20 year old? That is wild.

      Either way, even if Taylor was predatory in her relationship with Connor Kennedy, it doesn’t lessen the sleaze factor of Jake G.

      • girl_ninja says:

        Jake is absolutely shady as hell, but is too. Taylor used to sign young Connor out of school when they wanted to meet because he could only be signed out by an adult. He was 17-18 years old and there is absolutely a difference between 22 and 17, 18, 19 years old. It wasn’t right at all.

      • superashes says:

        I’m not saying there isn’t. I’m saying that what difference there is isn’t as bad as a 30 year old hooking up with a 22 year old. Whatever leverage the 4 year age difference gave Taylor in her relationship with Connor was not of the same level as the leverage the age difference gave Jake. Taylor was just a plaything to him. Taylor actually gave a damn about Connor.

    • Angel says:

      @div. You know it’s always double standard for her. Mind you the guy she was seeing was a minor when she was an adult and she even used to pick him at school.

      • Darla Mapleton says:

        So true. @Superashes must know them all personally because after all Taylor Swift gave a damn about the minor she was involved with.

      • superashes4 says:

        @Darla – It was pretty obvious Jake G ditched Taylor summarily in the same manner as he has done to a variety of very young women. She wrote an entire album about it. Meanwhile, it was equally obvious that Taylor was very into Connor, going so far as to buy a house in Cape Cod, after which he promptly dumped her. You don’t need to any of these people personally to see that.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        eh, I’m going to agree with superashes here.

        the difference between a 30 year old who’s been in the biz since he was a child and a then-20 year old dating vs a very-immature 22 year-old and a HS senior dating is significant. this is not to say it was RIGHT or OK that she did it, only that yes, there is quite a difference in the two relationships. and that 18 year old was a Kennedy, and was likely MORE mature than she was and had more life/world experience than she did. she also didn’t treat him the way JG treated her. the difference in the relationships was more than just age, which is why I think the two aren’t really comparable.

        as it is said, there is no “perfect victim”. Swift is by no means perfect, but JG is a snake to have treated her like he did and then mock her. and yeah, 10 years later? he’s a bitter betty.

    • Goldie says:

      IIRC Conor Kennedy’s mother had just died by suicide shortly before he and Taylor started dating. I think that’s what made their relationship even more side-eye worthy. He was a vulnerable teen who had just lost his mother.

      • I see what you’re saying. There have been romantic opportunities which I’ve passed on because I was concerned that it would have just been a rebound for one or both of us, or the other person was in a bad place and I felt like there was a good chance that us dating would just make things worse and they’d have the dating equivalent of buyer’s remorse. I think it’s definitely side-eye worthy (though I agree with superashes that it’s not in the same area as Gyllenhaal’s multiple predations).

    • stagaroni says:

      I’m not certain what the problem is with an 18 year old dating a 21-22 year old. I was a high-school senior and dating a guy who was a senior in college. I didn’t see him all that often and it was fun, but not serious in any way at all.

      Who knows, maybe Taylor secretly did like young guys and was creepy. If so, that is wrong and she should be called out by the people she dated. That does not negate the implicatications that Gyllenhaal seeks out naive young women and then summarily dumps them.

  6. Abby says:

    This is amazing. I’m a Taylor fan and I listened to Red (Taylor’s Version) on repeat. This made me laugh out loud.

    At this point I’m still grossed out by that assistant essay so my opinion of him is 👎🏼 . But this…the color, the glasses, the caption. It’s clever. I doubt it was his doing, but I wonder if he thought about the impact. I see this as more reflecting badly on him than on Taylor though.

    However, Snake farm needs to calm down.

  7. girl_ninja says:

    Both Jake and Taylor are messy as f**k but Taylor has those fight till death fans. He should have chosen another color all together.

  8. Bobbie says:

    I hope he is. Girl needs to get over their blip of a relationship. 🙂 Although this will probably just stir up the pot.

    • Lurker says:

      Stop telling women to “get over” patriarchal abuse and start telling abusive men to stop abusing women!

      • Bobbie says:

        Team Jake! 🙂

      • NotSoSocialB says:

        Bobbie-

        So gross. So, so gross. If things went down the way TS relays, and this behavior was corroborated in Domenica’s essay, he is a gaslighting abuser. How TF do you support an abuser? What kind of mental gymnastics must you perform to support an abuser?

        Unless you, yourself *are* one.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        @NotSoSocialB – if this is the same Bobbie that the other day was lamenting that society had “become more feminine”, then I agree with your assessment.

    • Elvie says:

      I’d say she is over it, but she has decided to re-record her albums and she needs to make it a value proposition to her fans and by releasing unrecorded songs or longer versions of songs to do that is savvy. Does it mean her old relationships are being relitigated by fans? Yes, but so be it. I don’t think it means Taylor is still hung up on Jake as a 32 year old woman.

      It was just a seminal relationship when she wrote the album 10 years ago. People keep saying “it was just 3 months”, but if you listen to the lyrics you know that it didn’t stop when Jake broke up with her, he kept reaching out and then ghosting her over and over again in a really unhealthy way and that affects you at that age and it comes out in the music.

      • T3PO says:

        Worth noting as well that she “decided” to re-record her music so she would have the ownership of it. This is not for shits and giggles and if she had ownership of her music all along I highly doubt there would be a re-record.

      • Bobbie says:

        I understand why she re-released the song but, for me, I wouldn’t want to dredge all that stuff up again from 10 years ago.

    • Lurker says:

      Bobbie, are you still “Team Jake” after reading the Medium essay? Gross.

      • Merricat says:

        +1

      • lemontwist says:

        +2

      • Bobbie says:

        I didn’t read it. I am looking at this whole thing with amused detachment.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        @Bobbie – so your amused detachment is based on not having all of the information about all of the players here.

        why not read that essay, maybe re-think your assessment, and then tell us your opinion. if it doesn’t change, that will say a lot about what kind of person you are.

      • @Bobbie: “I’m too willfully ignorant and/or lacking in empathy to care that the guy I stan might be an abusive predator” is not the flex you think it is.

      • stagaroni says:

        Why give @Bobbie any attention? This person only posts nonsense so they can snicker and get sick satisfaction out of irritating women. My guess is @Bobbie was born a natural repellent to all respectful humans.

      • Jaded says:

        @Bobbie – stop trolling. Amused detachment isn’t how you treat gaslighting, manipulative dickheads who get off on luring in young, inexperienced women to put another notch on your bedpost, then bragging about it or humiliating them publicly. Grow up.

  9. Lizzie Bathory says:

    I wonder what PA was offered up on the set of The Guilty to get a “phenomenal” performance out of Jake.

  10. Lurker says:

    How many young interns and PAs were sacrificed to get that “phenomenal” performance out of Jake in The Guilty. 🙊🙈🙉

    • Justjj says:

      This was my take but admittedly kind of cheeky of him and it’s unfortunate he’s so gross because he is rather hot.

      • Winechampion says:

        I do not get the appeal of him, never have. His face is weird, his eyes are buggy—how anyone finds this guy handsome is beyond me

      • iseepinkelefants says:

        Wine champion, you forgot the weird voice. It’s both breathy and whiney. But I’m a hater, I’ve never liked him even before all of these gaslighting abuser stories. These stories are just gross. This whole display is gross. Reminds me of my ex who still won’t admit he did anything wrong. I see Jake is the same. Poking fun at a woman you abused? Clever 🙄

  11. Merricat says:

    Jake G. is trash.

  12. superashes says:

    After reading that Medium essay on him recently, I just want to throw up when I see his face. I don’t think there is anything cute or fun about this man. He is awful and I won’t support anything having to do with this person.

  13. Kat says:

    I know I’m going to get screamed at – but “trolling her”? She wrote an entire album about him and put him on blast. He’s not allowed to reference the situation when Taylor put out an ENTIRE album? And he’s supposed to what – just never talk about it never mention never reference it? He’s allowed to express himself as well.

    • schmootc says:

      I don’t disagree that he’s allowed to express himself as well, but it seems like all this does is remind everyone that he was an ass to her (and it sounds like others as well), which doesn’t seem like a good look.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      sure he’s allowed to express himself. but the time to do so was 10 years ago, when the album first came out.

      also, the way that he’s “expressing himself” just makes him look like he’s still bitter and petty that someone called him out for his predation. I mean, he could, in fact, express himself by TALKING about it in an interview (how their relationship affected him, etc.)…that would be fair, but a stunt like this, where all he’s doing is mocking her, isn’t exactly expressing his feelings. it’s simply making fun of *her* feelings, not expressing *his*.

      • Lana says:

        10 years ago she didn’t release 10 minute song, short film and one more video for a song about him. So situation was kinda different 10 years ago. Plus Taylor herself said in old interviews that 10 years ago Jake sent her some nice polite SMS or email about the album.
        I mean I don’t see a reason why he can’t shade and troll Taylor in a simple photoshoot, while Taylor is still using their old relationships for charts and sales, or even possibly also because she’s still bitter that he wasn’t that much into her.

  14. Sean says:

    OMG, that US Weekly cover! Kim’s old face! William with hair!

  15. BeeCee says:

    Except that it would have been a stylist that picked his clothes, and he probably doesn’t have much creative control over photoshoots for magazines.

    He probably walked in the door, and a stylist said “here’s some clothes go put them on”
    I doubt he was like “oh no, this is a red shirt, I can’t wear red because of Taylor” He was probably like “oh a fitted shirt? cool. Oh some silly heart glasses? Ok lets so some silly poses”

    It’s the magazine that put that stupid af caption knowing it would cause drama. Jake just showed up, put on the clothes they put in front of him, posed, and left.

    Here’s a little list of celebrities who have worn heart shaped glasses for pictures:
    Christina Aguilera, Drew Barrymore, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Evan Rachel Wood, etc.

    • Oria says:

      Celebrities are briefed on how their interviews and articles like this about them is angled, so I don’t fully agree with the statement of him just showing up, posing and leaving. Like he is totally unaware or responsible for how he is portrayed in the media.

      Celebrities like Jake are quite specific about what sort of questions they will answer and what sort of things they put their face on. Also what sort of interviews and photo shoots they will do.

      He’s aware and he was probably briefed on it being a “fun” angle.

      Way too often I see people thinking celebrities (actors, singers, ect) are completely unaware of what is written about them, and that other people decide. That’s just not true. They are aware because they carefully carve out certain images and looks for themselves (with help from publicists).

      Fame is not something that just happens to a person, it’s something people have to work for, and in working to get that they have to form images and story lines they want the public to read and see.

      I know most people think celebrities are “discovered” and have no responsibility in creating a name for themselves in different ways, that it just happens to someone. But that is rare and most are fully emerged and well aware of how to strategically do photo shoots and interviews that sell both their personalities and their products.

    • kirk says:

      @BeeCee – out of the 9 names you cited as having worn heart shaped glasses, 8 are female, 1 is goofy stoner dude.
      @Oria – yes. W: Hi JG we want you to dress in red for our colorful photo issue. JG: Sure, I have an idea for how to make it pop.

  16. Luna17 says:

    So Taylor can sign out a kid she was dating from school when she was 22 (ya I think it’s a weird a high schooler and 22 year old we’re together) but she is the perpetual victim because “youth.” Also the contestant infantilization of women who are adults but don’t want to take responsibility for their decisions gets old with her. They both suck in their own ways and her snake army needs to find constructive hobbies.

    • Emma says:

      Did she actually sign him out of school or is that unsubstantiated gossip though?

      I do agree that four years at that age is a lot.

  17. It’sjustblanche says:

    Even knowing that he was a jerk to her and seems to only date women much younger and less experienced than him, I gave him a bit of a pass until that horrible article came out. He’s extremely creepy and as an aside, he isn’t aging well at all. He’s losing his pretty boy looks fast, just like his sister lost her looks fast.

  18. AmelieOriginal says:

    The whole thing is hilarious. Jake is a predatory sleazy guy, no question about it. But to think he didn’t realize the rage of the Taylor Snake Fam would be out of control for this stunt, I just think is so, so, so funny. And I think the original caption was gold, too bad they had to change it.

    • Lana says:

      Why do you think he didn’t realize that Swifities would get mad? He switched off his comment section on IG in late November because they were posting him death threats and tried to spam all his posts with anyhting Taylor. This photoshoot was released by W Magazine in January and by January he alreay knew her fans are crazy. But they can’t spam his IG anyway anymore.

  19. Annetommy says:

    So now a 30 year old with a 22 year old is somehow unacceptable? Good Lord.

    • Emma says:

      Well, there’s no Miss Manners or police chief out there to stop a man from dating a younger woman. So it’s not unacceptable in a general sense.

      I have a feeling you’re just trolling and want to complain about woke cancel culture or whatever buzzword.

      But I’ll tell you this, the reason I and some others find it gross or scary is that we are all too well aware from personal experience of how older men tend to abuse their power, and power imbalances in society in general are dangerous for women.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      in general an age-gap like that will cause a side-eye, yes.

      however, there are some variables that matter.

      if the 30 year old and the 22 year old are of similar maturity and “power” levels (two A-listers vs. an A-lister and a “nobody”), it’s usually more acceptable. if they treat each other with respect, etc, then sure, OK. still odd as most folks with that age-gap are in different places in their lives so it will appear as predatory even if it’s not.

      but the relationship he had with both Swift and that essay-writer were NOT that. there were maturity and power imbalances, and he did NOT treat either of them with respect. he took advantage of their naivete. he was abusive and predatory.

      an eight-year gap when one is 50 and one 42, or one is 70 and one is 62, is not a big deal. (and, side note: theirs was actually a ten-year difference) but 30 and 22?…yeah, that can be questionable.

  20. SUNNYVILE says:

    I’m no fan of gyllenhall but I doubt he’d suddenly decide to comment/make a dig @ swift after all the years he’s silent whilst she wrote albums on him!! Most photoshoots are set up/instructed by the magazine’s photographer. I feel like they set this up to use his bad history with swift for clicks(which explains why they took it down after it trended

    • Christine says:

      Except all celebrities are always with their team when they do press, and there is no way, whoever Jake’s team is, they didn’t know about his Taylor Swift phase.

      • SUNNYVILE says:

        I wouldn’t be too sure about that! Since covid alot of things have changed/restructured in the entertainment industry. I remember watching the crown casts promotion videos and how actors like Emma & josh were grouped to do remote videos often working/zooming from home or some hotels. Well we can’t be certain if they set this up or not!

  21. Sophie says:

    I think this whole thing is very silly and quite funny.

  22. Emily says:

    The only part of the Taylor/Jake drama I’m here for is Dionne Warwick getting involved and telling that “young man” to give back the scarf because it isn’t his, and she’ll even pay postage for him.

    • SallyW says:

      C’mon. Taylor is 32 year old woman. She doesn’t need ye old scarf back. And if she’s desperate for a scarf she can buy new ones. Plus if there was a scarf Jake most likely threw it in a trash bin years ago.

  23. SallyW says:

    I mean, if it’s indeed a deliberate dig he pulled it off quite well. Perfect shade with humour and no words. Taylor was so dramatic with her short film and bridal music video, and SNL performance and he’s like “lol, you are still milking this stupid shit 10 years later?” I approve this shade.
    Also W magazine is owned Karlie Kloss, she is Taylor’s ex BFF.

    • Erinn says:

      I mean… I’m not sure how you think it’s dramatic of Taylor (who started the process mainly to own her own songs) but not dramatic for the 41 year old man to fire back over a decade later.

      I mean if he’s more mature than she is, and so above the drama, why would he partake?

  24. Lana says:

    That was witty and funny. Good photoshoot. But if Taylor can’t still shut up about their brief fling even decade later, I’m afraid such troll-y photoshoot can make her write yet even more new songs about him.

    • Merricat says:

      You should get out more. Jake G. is trash.

      • Lana says:

        Jokes on Taylor then. Cause she still wants this trash to pine for her, hence she put fantasies about it in both of her brand new music videos about him.

      • @Lana: ….are you talking about the videos made for songs that were first written for her Red album, years back?

        And I love how no matter how bad a guy is or what he does, a woman is SOMEHOW always worse for dating him or calling him out. Internalized mis ogyny is one hell of a drug.

      • Merricat says:

        Jake Gyllenhall is trash, regardless of Taylor Swift, and she wasn’t the first or the last to point it out. Maybe Lana likes trashy men, though. You’re right, Margaret, internalized misogyny is the worst.

    • Jaded says:

      Since when is it witty and funny to behave like a misogynistic prick? People like you who condone that kind of immature and hurtful behaviour are just as bad.

  25. Vic says:

    Ok, I kinda like it cause it’s funny. It turns this whole RED melodrama into a light-hearted joke. The problem Taylor is petty af and absolutely can’t stand when people answer her or stand up to her in any shape or form. So Jake should be prepared for a bunch of new videos, songs or even merch about himself. She was selling that damn scarf and tissues as merch after all, lol.

    • stagaroni says:

      Except it isn’t funny at all when a man chases after a naive young woman, pours on the charm, uses his power to keep her off-balance and unsure, dumps her, and then keeps contacting her when he thinks she might be moving on. When the woman talks about it or tells him to leave her alone, the man acts like she is crazy or still in love with him. It has happened to me, to my friends, and so many other women. It is manipulative behavior that no woman should ever excuse or think cute or funny.

    • Jaded says:

      Sure. Another “blame the woman” take on a pretty sick man. Not funny at all and those of us with personal experience with his type know of what we speak. Good for Swift and others to expose his ugliness.

    • Merricat says:

      Because abuse of women is a light-hearted joke! Ask any of them!
      Gross.

  26. canichangemyname says:

    Wow, this comment section escalated quickly LOL. After reading the essay, I have no doubt he’s a dirtbag. I’m sure Taylor made some bad choices in her youth (we’re all kind of stupid when we’re young), but in general, she’s just re-releasing her music for legal reasons. Jake probably just showed up and got told what to wear.
    I like TS, I support her right to write her songs about her experiences, and I enjoy the music. IF this is an intentional troll, it’s incredibly petty. But seriously, it seems like something that went over his head as far as an editorial situation created for publicity. He doesn’t even strike me as smart enough to roll up and say, “I want to troll someone I dated 10 years ago for three months.” Sometimes (like with the Kardashians) we can just see something for what it is – a play for publicity.
    He’s still a dirtbag. And yes, the Connor Kennedy situation was definitely awkward but young kids (especially with money) are stupid. Sorry, but I said it. I’m sick and in a bad mood LOL

    • Likeyoucare says:

      Agree with you. He is just stupid. The poor girl who was assigned to take care of him by his management show that he really is special kind of stupid.
      A grown ass man who need a special young girl to take care his emotional need. He is not only stupid but cant function in real world without someone holding his hands.
      Sorry about my ranting, but this kind of man is the kind of man who is always be missunderstood because its the women fault they dont understand him.

  27. Lmk says:

    Jake strikes me as someone who doesn’t care about this type of stuff. He almost never addresses anything controversial or gossipy. But the magazine does and knew what they were doing. Jake probably just showed up and said ok.

  28. Pam says:

    Taylor must be fuming now, lmao.