Trying to beat the heat! John Mayer recently came under fire for his past romance with Taylor Swift after the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) earlier this month — and fans are just getting started as they wait for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) to debut.
“John is trying his best to avoid the attention he’s been getting from Taylor’s new album,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “He’s not going to make any public comments directly related to her songs or album.”
The “Gravity” singer, 44, who was briefly linked to Swift, 31, from 2009 to 2010, is not the subject of any of her Red tracks, but he is widely believed to be the man described in “Dear John” off 2010’s Speak Now.
For Mayer, the past few days have seemed like 2010 “is coming back to haunt him,” the insider says.
Swift caused a stir among her fans when she dropped a 10-minute version of “All Too Well” and a corresponding All Too Well short film on Friday, November 12, with Easter eggs seemingly pointing to her 2010 whirlwind romance with Jake Gyllenhaal.
The frenzy over Gyllenhaal, 40, allegedly keeping Swift’s scarf after their split and the emotional performance from Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink in the film left fans wondering what Swift had in store for the rerelease of Speak Now and the tale of her and Mayer’s romance.
In fact, some fans turned their sights on the “New Light” singer shortly after hearing Swift’s new Red record — claiming that Mayer is next on the chopping block.
“No, but she was king to Jake, John Mayer had his name in the song title, he’s dead I’m afraid,” one fan tweeted on Friday, while another user wrote, “Don’t get too comfortable, your day is coming @JohnMayer.”
Mayer has “been through it all” after being bombarded with comments from Swift’s listeners in recent days, the insider tells Us. “It’s like he’s faced with the humiliation [of the split and song about the drama] all over again.”
While the “Stop This Train” musician understands that Swift has to “please her fans,” he has always had issues with being “written about in lyrics” by his ex, the source explains.
“[He] would prefer he was left out altogether,” the insider tells Us, noting that Mayer “hasn’t spoken to her in forever, so he learns about her feelings towards him through her music. What’s new to everyone else is new to him.”
The Connecticut native “said what he needed to say years ago and is trying to just let bygones be bygones,” the source adds.
Mayer dated the “Back to December” songstress from December 2009 to February 2010. Their brief romance was later detailed in Swift’s “Dear John,” which Mayer previously said he was not a happy about.
“It made me feel terrible. It was a really lousy thing to do,” the “Wild Blue” crooner told Rolling Stone in June 2012, claiming he “didn’t deserve” to be called out by Swift. He alleged that he “never got an email. I never got a phone call. I was really caught off guard” before the track was released.
Earlier this year, Mayer found himself facing off against some of Swift’s fans when he joined TikTok in March. “You’re not safe here john,” one user wrote beneath his first video.
The “Half of My Heart” singer captioned another video, “Goodnight new friends!” seemingly reacting to some comments on his profile.
Mayer again sparred with a Swift fan earlier this month following the rerelease of Red over the weekend.
“F–k yourself you ugly bitch I hope you choke on something,” the user DM’d Mayer, according to a screenshot shared on Sunday, November 14. “Answer me you bitch.”
The “Why You No Love Me” musician responded by asking, “Do you really hope that I die?” After the fan explained that she was “dared” by her friend to message him and “did not expect” him to see it, Mayer assured her that it fine.
“It’s 100 percent OK,” he responded in a since-deleted message. “Go forth and live happy and healthy!”
With reporting by Diana Cooper