The “Taylor’s Version” re-release of Speak Now will arrive in July, with Taylor Swift reclaiming another series of songs that she wrote near the start of her career. Among these is the breakup track “Dear John,” shining a spotlight on her relationship with John Mayer.
Thanks to the overlap between Swift’s personal life and her music, these re-releases have reawakened people’s interest in her past relationships—and in the case of “Dear John,” John Mayer doesn’t come out looking good. The pair dated when she was 19 and he was 32, and Mayer has faced judgement both over this age gap and the way he allegedly treated Swift at the time. “Dear John” does not paint a flattering portrait of his behavior.
Some of Taylor’s other exes, however, are not so concerned about the return of Speak Now.
Taylor Lautner dated Swift in the fall of 2009, shortly before Mayer. In an interview this week, he was asked about his feelings on Speak Now‘s upcoming re-release. His reply was both relaxed and positive: “I think it’s a great album. Yeah, I feel safe.”
He also joked that he was “praying for John,” a snarky remark that he reiterated on TikTok today:
@taysqueezeslemons #prayforjohn ♬ Dear John – Taylor Swift
Posted on the account he shares with his wife, Lautner shared a TikTok of himself wearing a bathrobe and solemnly kneeling down to pray while “Dear John” plays in the background. The caption is a simple hashtag: #prayforjohn.
“This is why he’ll forever be the swifties’ favorite ex,” reads one of the top replies, while another commenter wrote, “honestly if taylor wrote back to December about me i’d sleep like a baby every night.”
Unlike the more recriminatory and heartbroken tone of “Dear John,” the track “Back to December” is both flattering and apologetic toward its recipient, with Swift saying in 2010: “Guys get what they deserve in my songs, and if they deserve an apology, they should get one. There was someone who was absolutely wonderful to me and I dropped the ball, and I needed to say all that.”
In 2016, Taylor Lautner confirmed that this song was about him. So while some of Swift’s exes will have their dirty laundry aired out thanks to these re-released albums, he has nothing to worry about.
