Why Taylor Swift Fans Think Tortured Poets Department Is a Nod to Ex Joe Alwyn

The conversation with friends on 2024 Grammys night is that the title of Taylor Swift's new album has a Joe Alwyn Easter egg.  

Shortly after the "Anti-Hero" singer announced the April 19 release date of her 11th studio album at the Feb. 4 ceremony, Swifties started speculating that its title, The Tortured Poets Department, was a nod to her ex. (See every star on the Grammys red carpet here.)

"I knew that taylor swift's new album name sounded a little too familiar," one fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside a screenshot pointing out that Joe was in a WhatsApp group chat called "The Tortured Man Club."

Meanwhile, a second Swiftie quipped, "tortured man club group chat lighting up i fear."

A third fan remarked of Taylor, "oh she's wild for this LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."

Joe first revealed the chat name in 2022, joking that he "started the group" with Normal People's Paul Mescal and Fleabag's Andrew Scott as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the characters they play onscreen.

"It's the Tortured Man Club, I think," the Conversations With Friends star shared in a joint Variety interview with Paul. "We were both in the Sally Rooney universe and crossed over with Lenny Abrahamson. We were so lucky to have that experience."

Joe added at the time that the chat consisted of Andrew "messaging himself good mornings."

"It hasn't had that much use recently," the 32-year-old said, with Paul jokingly noting that the three were "less tortured now."

 

Taylor, 34, dated Joe for six years before news of their breakup surfaced in April. During their relationship, the music superstar collaborated with the actor several time, including on her 2020 album folklore, where Joe was credited under the pseudonym of William Bowery. In fact, that collab led to Joe winning his first-ever Grammy. (See the complete list of winners at the 2024 Grammys here.)

"It wasn't like, 'It's 5 o'clock, it's time to try and write a song together,'" he told The Guardian in 2022. "It came about from messing around on a piano, and singing badly, then being overheard, and being, like, 'Let's see what happens if we get to the end of it together.'"

Joe continued, "I mean, fun is such a stupid word, but it was a lot of fun. And it was never a work thing, or a 'Let's try and do this because we're going to put this out' thing. It was just like baking sourdough in lockdown."

To see Taylor—as well as more stars—at this year's Grammys, keep reading.

in custom Schiaparelli.

in Maison Margiela.

in custom Baby Phat.

in Versace.

in custom Courreges and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.

in custom Armani Privé.

in Gucci.

in Fashion East.

in Dilara Findikoglu.

in Gaurav Gupta.

in vintage Dior.

in Louis Vuitton.

in Zuhair Murad.

in custom Atelier Versace.

in Alexandre Vauthier.

in Reem Acra.

in Chrome Hearts.

in Celia Kritharioti.

The 2024 Grammy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. Don't miss E!'s red carpet coverage starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on E!.