Jake Gyllenhaal Breaks Silence on Vitriol He Faced Following Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ Music Video

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Jake Gyllenhaal has broken his silence on the hate he faced from Taylor Swift fans after she dropped the music video for the ten-minute version of “All Too Well.”

“It has nothing to do with me. It’s about her relationship with her fans,” he told Esquire in a profile released Thursday. “It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don’t begrudge anyone that.”

While Swift did not name Gyllenhaal as the inspiration for her 2012 song — or the extended version dropped in November 2021– context clues made it easy for fans to guess the track was based on their three-month-or-so relationship.

Gyllenhaal quickly became the target of angry Swift fans, as the song’s accompanying short film also depicted the song’s protagonist as an older man who breaks a young woman’s heart.

The vitriol was so intense, it eventually caused him to turn off his Instagram comments, but Swift has remained silent on the issue.

“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,” Gyllenhaal added while speaking to Esquire. “That begs for a deeper philosophical question. Not about any individual, per se, but a conversation that allows us to examine how we can — or should, even — take responsibility for what we put into the world, our contributions into the world.”

The actor went on to point to the “anger and divisiveness” seen in politics, calling it “life-threatening in the extreme.”

Gyllenhaal later revealed that he has not listened to the album Red, which “All Too Well” is featured on, and that he is very happy despite the backlash he faced this fall.

“My life is wonderful,” he said. “I have a relationship that is truly wonderful, and I have a family I love so much. And this whole period of time has made me realize that.”