John Mayer has gotten himself into a mess of trouble with celebrities he has dated in the past. From comments he has publicly made during interviews to details of how he treated his significant others during their relationships coming to light, it is no wonder that his exes do not think very highly of him.
Of course, the most vocal of Mayer's exes is Taylor Swift. The two met and began an unconfirmed relationship when Swift was 19 and the Gravity singer was 32 years old. The relationship sparked out of Mayer's wanting to collaborate with the Bad Blood singer on a song he had written, "Half of My Heart."
"Waking up to this song idea that won't leave my head," Mayer tweeted. "3 days straight now. That means it's good enough to finish," he wrote. "It's called Half of My Heart and I want to sing it with Taylor Swift. She would make a killer Stevie Nicks in contrast to my Tom Petty of a song."
The two would go on to date from all reports until 2010. But then things went south and appeared to go south quickly. As a result, "Dear John" was written, and it was clear who the song was about without any explanation from Swift.
However, the same could not be said for Mayer's alleged response released in 2013. And this is why some fans believe John Mayer's "Paper Doll" might have been about Taylor Swift, but it is a stretch.
Taylor Swift Notably Wrote "Dear John" About John Mayer
There is speculation as to when Swift and Mayer's relationship ended. Some believe it was early 2010, while others believe it is more likely the relationship did not officially become a thing of the past until the summer of that year.
What everyone can agree on, however, is that when "Dear John" was released in October 2010, the two were not only over but not on speaking terms. And while it was obvious to fans who the song was about, Swift would not confirm it at the time, only speaking about how difficult the song was for her to write.
"A lot of times when people's relationships end, they write an email to that person and say everything that they wish they would have said," Swift explained. "A lot of times they don't push send."
But, Swift would muster up the courage and end up "pushing send" to create "Dear John," despite it being "a tough one to write."
When pressed about who the song was about, the "Blank Space" singer made it clear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she would not be naming names, no matter how many times she was asked about the identity of the person being sung about in "Dear John."
"I'm still going to continue to write about my life and I guess people are going to continue to speculate about it," Swift explained. "And I'm going to continue to never tell them what the song's about."
But given the Easter eggs that were left in the song and the timing of when it was released, plus the fact that John Mayer is Taylor's only "John" ex, fans immediately guessed that the song was about none other than Mayer.
Fans Think John Mayer Wrote "Paper Doll" About Taylor Swift
What is not so clear is whether Mayer truly wrote a response song to "Dear John." But given the Waiting on the World to Change singer's reaction to the song, many Swift fans believe "Paper Doll" was written to counter what had been said in Swift's emotional song.
In 2012, Mayer finally spoke out about Swift's song. Not only did he claim he was "humiliated" by what the Shake It Off singer sang about in "Dear John," but he had some choice words to say about Swift as well.
"It made me feel terrible," Mayer explained. "Because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good about taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do."
Perhaps feeling like he had been villainized unfairly, the only way that Mayer could tell his side of the story was with "Paper Doll." Because Mayer has never discussed who the song is or is not about, speculation is all fans have to hold onto at this point.
"The song never got listened to as a song," Mayer explained. "It became a news story because of the lyrics. I’m not in the business of telling people what the song’s about."
Given that both songs were written over a decade ago, the hope is that both have moved on and are not holding any grudges. And based on Swift's comments before playing "Dear John" for the first time live in years, it appears that is the case.
John Mayer Has Long Since Moved On, And So Has Taylor Swift
After Scooter Braun stole Swift's music and subsequently lost a fortune from doing so, Swift has been recording her songs dated prior to 2019, thanks in part to Kelly Clarkson. The most recently finished re-recorded album is Speak Now where "Dear John" resides.
And prior to playing the song for the first time in years, Swift asked fans to be kind to the person they thought the song was about.
"I was hoping to ask you, that as we lead up to this album coming out, I would love for that kindness and that gentleness to extend onto our internet activities," Swift asked of her fans.
“So what I'm trying to say is, I'm putting this album out because I want to own my music and I believe that any artist who has the desire to own their music should be able to. That's why I'm putting out this album."
Swift went on to say, "I’m 33 years old, I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote and the memories we made together. So what I'm trying to tell you, is that I am not putting this album out so you should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I wrote a song about 14 million years ago when I was 19."
For his part, Mayer appears to have let any beef with Swift go as well, and he even has some insight as to why "Paper Doll" did not chart as well as Mayer would have liked it to.
"Nothing bothers me anymore," Mayer explained to Entertainment Tonight. "There are going to be times when I make music as popular or empirically as [Swift's] in terms of making pop music that won't sell as many copies and I'm fine with that."
As for "Paper Doll" being one of those songs that did not chart well, Mayer believes that fans got caught up in it being a revenge song rather than truly listening to the lyrics. As such, it is time to end the feud and just be artists expressing themselves.
"She's an artist. I'm an artist," Mayer explained. "Everybody stop, nobody's got cancer. We're rich people who get to live out our dreams. Let's just stop it. I'm bigger than one song or one record."
Of course, fans will always speculate who the songs are about that Swift and Mayer wrote. But with both parties staying mum and wanting to put the past behind them, perhaps, fans should as well.
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