Matty Healy seemingly mocked his ex Taylor Swift during The 1975’s set at the Glastonbury Festival on Friday.
While delivering some of his signature banter from the stage, the “About You” crooner sarcastically dubbed himself a “poet” in an apparent nod to the pop star’s “Tortured Poets Department” album, much of which Healy is believed to have inspired.
“I want to be sincere for a second. What this moment is making me realize is that I probably am the best,” the frontman said with a smirk, according to footage published by Variety. “I’m probably the best songwriter of my generation, the best… what do we say, poet, ladies and gentleman, is what I am. Generational wordsmith.”
His acerbic comments came just before the band launched into a performance of their 2013 song “Chocolate,” which may have been a deliberate choice given a particular verse on Swift’s album.
“You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate,” the Grammy winner sings on the title track.
But Healy’s remarks weren’t the only thing making Swifties raise their eyebrows. Fans also noted his jacket featured a pin of Peter Pan — a character he’s previously used to describe himself and one that Swift references on her song “Peter.”
Fans have concluded that multiple songs on Swift’s 11th studio album allude to her brief courtship with Healy in the spring of 2023 and their years-long friendship before that.
Along with the titular “Tortured Poets Department,” those tracks include “But Daddy I Love Him,” “Guilty as Sin?” “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” and the scathing song “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” which paints a portrait of a man whose actions didn’t “measure up” to the persona he initially presented.
In October, Healy seemingly took another dig at Swift’s lyrics when discussing where he finds inspiration for his own music.
“I would kind of just be lying if I made a record about, I don’t know, all the stuff that was said about me or my casual romantic liaisons or whatever it may be that I’ve become known for,” Healy said on an episode of the “Doomscroll” podcast. “I think that a lot of artists become very interested in their lore … I think that’s an obvious thing to draw from. I’m just not interested in it.”
Healy, who’s currently engaged to model-singer Gabbriette, dated Swift for only a matter of weeks, on the heels of her split from Joe Alwyn and just before she started dating Travis Kelce in July 2023.
However, “The Tortured Poets Department” and its many references that have been linked to Healy have prompted speculation about the depth of the artists’ relationship and just how far back the romantic undertones go.
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