Remember 2016? It was a happier time. A simpler time.
Sure, clowns were murdering people left and right and we all knew the apocalypse was near, but we still had fun, didn’t we?
And one of the most fun moments of 2016 happened when Calvin Harris just ripped the hell out of Taylor Swift.
They’d been dating for over a year, but shortly after they broke up, Taylor was seen canoodling with Tom Hiddleston — there was such a quick turnaround that some thought she was cheating.
But that’s not what Calvin got mad about.
No, the big issue started because he and Taylor collaborated on his hit single, “This is What You Came For,” but Taylor used a pseudonym so no one would find out.
Then in an interview just before the breakup, he was asked directly about making music with her, and he said that they “haven’t even spoken about collaborating.”
Apparently Taylor’s feelings got hurt, and a report came out about how Taylor had actually written “This is What You Came For” herself, melody and all.
And Calvin wasn’t having it.
In a Twitter rant that he quickly deleted, he acknowledged that Taylor did write some of the song — “And she sings on a little bit of it too. Amazing lyric writer and she smashed it as usual.”
However, he insisted that “I wrote the music, produced the song, arranged it and cut the vocals though. And initially she wanted it kept secret, hence the pseudonym.”
“Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though,” he added.
“I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do.”
Beautiful, shady Calvin told Taylor “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.
“Please focus on the positive aspects of YOUR life because you’ve earned a great one.”
It was a truly amazing takedown, and even now, nearly a year later, it’s still just as powerful as it ever was.
But in a new interview, Calvin says that it wasn’t a good move on his part.
“It was completely the wrong instinct,” he admits. “I was protecting what I see as my one talent in the world being belittled.”
“It felt like things were piling on top of me and that was when I snapped.”
In his own defense, he says “It’s very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly.”
“The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship itself. When we were together, we were very careful for it not to be a media circus.”
“She respected my feelings in that sense,” Calvin continues. “I’m not good at being a celebrity. But when it ended, all hell broke loose.”
“Now I see that Twitter thing as a result of me succumbing to pressure. It took me a minute to realize that none of that matters.”
About his relationship with Taylor in general, he says “For both of us it was the wrong situation. It clearly wasn’t right, so it ended, but all of the stuff that happened afterwards …”
Calvin trails off there, but we can use our imaginations to figure out how that statement ends.
And, from where we’re sitting, the only possible option is “But all of the stuff that happened afterwards was delightful and really just an absolute blast.”