Jake Gyllenhaal is speaking out in a rare comment about Taylor Swift’s song All Too Well and the impact on his life. The actor dated the singer in 2010, and he was 30, and she was 21. Two years later, she released a song called All Too Well, rumored to be about Jake Gyllenhaal.
Although the song was released in 2012, a re-release of All Too Well thrust the song back into the spotlight. The new longer song is called All Too Well Taylor’s Version.
In an interview with Esquire, Gyllenhaal respected Taylor’s creative process but noted the importance of not allowing cyberbullying from “unruly” supporters.
Jake Gyllenhaal discusses the impact of Taylor Swift’s song on his life
In November, Taylor released a full re-recorded version of her album Red and marked the release with a short film for All Too Well. The song was speculated to be about Jake Gyllenhaal 10 years ago, and the re-release inspired renewed discussions.
Fans flooded Gyllenhaal’s Instagram page, and the actor eventually disabled Instagram comments. He explained, “It has nothing to do with me. It’s about her relationship with her fans. It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don’t begrudge anyone that.”
Gyllenhaal reflected, “At some point, I think it’s important when supporters get unruly that we feel a responsibility to have them be civil and not allow for cyberbullying in one’s name.”
Taylor revealed that her songs are about exes but never named names.
The original All Too Well was five and a half minutes long and an instant fan favorite. The new version of the song was even longer and offered additional insight into the relationship.
Taylor Swift wrote and directed the 10-minute-long short film for the new version of All Too Well. The short film starred Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. Taylor appeared at the end of the music video as an older version of Sadie.
Dylan plays a character rumored to be inspired by Jake, and Sadie portrays a young Taylor.
Taylor Swift re-records and releases albums
Taylor Swift announced plans to re-record her old music.
Taylor re-recorded her music because she did not have the rights to her masters. Manager Scooter Braun bought and sold the rights to Swift’s music to an investment fund for an estimated $300 million.
Taylor Swift re-recorded her fourth studio album, Red, and she released Red (Taylor’s Version) in November. In April 2021, she released Fearless (Taylor’s Version), a re-recording of her second studio album, Fearless.
Taylor will re-record another album this year.