Bad news, Gaylors. Taylor Swift may have finally addressed the longstanding rumors that she is secretly queer in what looks to be the leaked liner notes for the rerelease of her iconic album 1989.
Screenshots of the prologue for “Taylor’s Version” of the beloved 2014 pop LP began circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 26, as Page Six and other outlets noted. The text of the prologue—which was later verified as authentic by People—includes a reference to the intense speculation surrounding Swift’s mid-2010s friendships with women like model Karlie Kloss.
“I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships,” Swift wrote, referring to this period of her career. “If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.”
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That final sentence seems to be a direct reference to the Gaylor community, a hyper-online group of Taylor Swift fans who believe that the singer-songwriter is a closeted bisexual or lesbian who has been leaving clues about her sexuality with a level of calculation that, frankly, would make her a criminal mastermind. Gaylors, as proponents of the theory are known, have analyzed Swift’s friendships with Kloss and Glee star Dianna Agron, the color of her outfits and hair dye, and, perhaps most crucially, the lyrics of her love songs to build their case that the pop icon would one day come out of the closet.
From my own observations as a Reddit lurker, Gaylors were already reeling from the news of Swift’s relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, which began making headlines around the time many were expecting that Swift might finally make an announcement about her sexuality. I would not recommend checking how the Gaylors are processing the leaked liner notes until they’ve had some time to metabolize the news. In all seriousness, it can be heartbreaking to learn that someone you thought represented you does not share your experience (although engaging in such speculation is always a tricky exercise).
