Dianna Agron is a truly low-key, easygoing celebrity. She’s been working steadily in indie films and when she’s not on the promotional circuit we don’t hear too much about her. Dianna did an interview with Rolling Stone that was mostly about her time on Glee, her upcoming film Clock, and the fact that many of her recent roles have been as Jewish characters (Dianna is Jewish). The whole interview is worth a read. But right at the end, there was a little back-and-forth about Taylor Swift, and the long-rumored relationship between Taylor and Dianna:
Rolling Stone: You have inspired music as well, since you’re in the liner notes as one of the inspirations for Taylor Swift’s song “22.”
Dianna: Me? Oh, if only! That’s more because of a friendship than being the inspiration for the song. But I would not be the person to ask about that. I cannot claim that!RS: How do you feel about the way that friendship was covered in the media? You two were shipped.
Dianna: Shipped?
RS: You two were made out by the media and some fans to be in a relationship.
Dianna: That is so interesting. I… I mean, there have been many stories about my dating life that are so wildly untrue. That’s funny.
What do we actually know about Taylor and Dianna? They were friends for a few years in the early 2010s, around the dawn of Taylor’s #squad. And that’s how Dianna refers to it in the interview–as a ‘friendship’. It’s an awkward exchange though, right? She seems taken aback, but you’d think she would have heard the term “shipped” before. And back in 2012, Jimmy Kimmel asked Dianna if she was dating Taylor. So it’s not the first time she’s been asked about it, but it has been a while. She laughed it off then, too. She also blew a kiss to the camera and said “hi Taylor,” clearly joking–but that would have been enough for some fans to “ship” them.
There’s been speculation about Taylor’s sexuality in some corners of the fandom for a while. I think a couple of things are going on with that. I think Taylor does write some songs to be open to many perspectives (“Betty” being a prime example–it could be about a gay or straight couple, and it makes sense either way). A lot of her songs can be read as queer. But some of Taylor’s fans see ‘easter eggs’ where they want to see them. You have to squint–or be familiar with a bunch of clues and theories from fan forums–to see the ‘hidden meanings’ in these songs.
It reminds me of how in Old Hollywood, there was a rumor that the actresses Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo were lovers. Marlene was openly bisexual, but Garbo was reserved about her relationships. The evidence for this rumor is pretty thin on the ground–it sticks around just because people want it to be true. And that’s how I feel about a lot of these rumors with Taylor Swift and her female friends, like Dianna or Karlie Kloss. Sure, Dianna and Taylor would have been a cute couple, and could have borrowed each other’s Ted Baker dresses. But I’m not convinced.
Photos credit: David Tonnessen, PacificCoastNews.com/Avalon, MPP/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram. Candids of Taylor and Dianna are from 2012
Diana is so insanely pretty. That’s all I came to say 🤷🏻♀️
I came to say the same thing! Watched Shiva Baby recently and Agron in very good in it and she’s just so very pretty.
She was great in that movie
I agree! She’s so pretty and I love her singing voice.
Yeah but speculating about someone’s sexuality if they aren’t ready to share it is not a good look. Taylor’s bedroom is Taylor’s business unless she makes it public.
Agreed
I understand the desire to feel represented in media and be able to talk about romantic relationships taking place between womxn. I also know that’s still a lot of prejudice which contributes to queer celebrities remaining closeted.
However at the moment there are celebrities that are out of the closet like Cardi B, Kristen Stewart, Tessa Thompson and Cara Delevingne etc… So I don’t see the point in speculating about relationships between womxn that
a) didn’t happen
or
b) did happen but one or both people are closeted. And it’s an invasion of privacy to speculate.
I’d rather talk about queer people who are comfortable enough with their sexuality that they’re publicly affectionate with their partner and/or they explicitly reference it in interviews.
Like as a queer womxn I don’t get pouring so much energy and attention into whether or not Taylor Swift has had girlfriends and who they are. And I think it’s rude to ask Diana Argon about it. It reads like entitlement and lesophobia from the interviewer.
I’d rather talk about the visibly queer celebrities who are doing interesting things.
That’s so well said, Bandit.
Speaking as a gay woman:
1. Diana Agron publicly came out ages ago. She’s not closeted at all. She’s fully out and has been for a decade.
2. There’s a strong difference between actual publicly closeted women who mind their business, and Taylor Swift, who’s been using EXACT throwbacks in her marketing and branding, thousands of them by now, to thread her identity in with the queer community.
We keep it quiet which closeted A-list femmes you think are straight but are open to the gay community in Los Angeles, including organizing and attending invite-only lesbian clubs and events. They don’t use queer iconography to brand their professional self so we don’t out their hetero professional image. Taylor has threaded thousands of queer references in by now (lesbian colorways in her newest concert, exact photo still replicas of queer women in the 1940s, coded language incorporation, etc). She’s outing herself with branding while hiring known gay British men to act as her beard. It’s messy.
As the resident did-a-recent-deep-dive-on-Taylor poster, a few things:
– “you’d think she would have heard the term “shipped” before”: lol, Achele and Faberry were huge back when Glee was airing! The pairings of Dianna and Lea Michele, both on the show and in real life
– this article doesn’t even mention that Dianna is bi! There was a whole thing back on the Glee tour where she took the tee-shirt intended for the girl playing a gay character, that said “Likes girls”. Then she said it wasn’t a coming out and she was straight, I think? Then she married a Mumford guy, then she got a divorce, then she came out as bisexual
– you’ll note she never denied being in a relationship with Taylor, she played coy both times
– apparently, some people think she and Taylor are back together now
– and the same people think “Kaylor” was fake? Like, that Taylor faked a queer relationship for reasons, but hid it for reasons. I don’t know!
– I also read that the Glee cast said Dianna would have chemistry with a tree, so that could be why she gets shipped with everyone…
It’s so interesting to me that there are young people in the entertainment industry who are unfamiliar with fandom language to the extent that they don’t know what “shipped” means. My lived experience is so wholly different from these people, lol. Like, if you’re not a shipper, how are you spending your free time and what are you thinking about? Going out and doing things? Making plans? Truly it boggles the mind.
I agree that there are songs written in enough of an open way that more and more fans can relate to them including LGBT fans – that just makes sense from a writing perspective and not wanting to exclude anyone. Likewise IF Taylor is bisexual, that is her business to put out or not (and so far, extremely not), but she has said the following so take that how you will:
As my 25th birthday present from the media, I’d like for you to stop accusing all my friends of dating me. #thirsty — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) December 8, 2014
[about her LGBTQ activism] “I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of. ” – Taylor Swift, Vogue, August/September 2019
[explaining the Betty/James/August songs] “In my head, I think Betty and James ended up together, right? In my head, she ends up with him…And then he goes back to Betty.” – Taylor Swift, Long Pond Studio Sessions
My perspective about people’s sexuality is that I will believe what you tell me to be true. So I won’t speculate at all about Taylor or Diana – though I will agree that they would make an insanely beautiful couple.
know absolutely nothing about this rumor and had not heard it before. However, when I read Agron’s response I thought “that’s not a denial and now I think this rumor I’ve never heard before is true.”
Id like her to spill on Ryan Murphy and the set’s toxic environment. She was suspiciously left out of the episode dealing with Corey montieff even though their characters had been involved.
Regardless of what she’s done in the past, she’s currently engaged to a Belgian painter.
Taylor swift is a spotlight stealer. She latches on to people who are doing big things or getting attention. I first noticed it when she would steal attention at award shows.
Dianne agron was too beautiful. I can see Taylor “collecting her”. Doesn’t mean there was a relationship.