Taylor Swift fans are screaming and crying after the release of her new album, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” that allowed her to revisit some old hits and gain ownership of her music. 

 The hit album includes a 30 track set with 16 original songs and 14 bonus tracks with nine of them coming “From the Vault.” Swift also released a 10-minute short film version of “All Too Well” directed by Swift herself which featured Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien that sparked tension with ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal. 

The release of Swift’s version of Red made the internet go wild with fans bringing up rumors about the couple’s three month relationship. There are a lot of theories regarding her red scarf holding a deeper meaning that leaves questions about whether  Gyllenhaal returned Swift’s scarf back or not.

“I think the red scarf was a very significant piece of evidence that points to Jake Gyllenhaal,” said junior nursing major Lacey Marsh. “All I gotta say is, give it back Jake.” 

Since the rumors started about Gyllenhaal and Swift’s past relationship, the concept of grooming has been applied to their age gap. Grooming is defined as older people building relationships with younger people with the intention of establishing a sexual or abusive relationship according to The Prindle Post. This type of predatory relationship in Hollywood may be prolific due to the media’s portrayal and glorification of famous couples with large age gaps. Additionally, The Prindle Post goes on to cite the power dynamic in Hollywood as being a contributor to these types of abusive relationships. 

 On Reddit, many people spoke on the buzz of Swift’s past relationships. Swift herself has even been referred to as a “groomer” when it comes to dating younger men such as Conor Kennedy. However, many have also defended Swift by claiming that her previous relationships with older men may have been a result of her being a victim of grooming.

Swift marks a milestone by being the second woman that has marked the tenth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for her Red (Taylor’s Version) album. According to MRC Data, the album had earned 605,000 equivalent units in the week of Nov. 18 in the United States. 

In addition to dropping Red, Swift collaborated with Starbucks, which was a coincidence in their red cup season. Swifties were able to ask for “Taylor’s Latte” or “Taylor’s version” for a grande caramel nonfat latte. 

Sasha Alcorta, a senior in interdisciplinary studies here at TAMU-CC, was excited for Swift’s release version of Red as Alcorta knew Swift’s vocals would sound more mature. Alcorta said she kept watching the All Too Well short film often with her family and friends to experience it with her. 

“I think it’s funny, all the drama that’s surrounding the music video and re-release of the song,” said Alcorta. “It goes to show the power she has and how even 11 years after the relationship ended [with Gyllenhaal], there is still a hold on this album and Taylor herself has on pop culture. So many of these songs made top charts as an initial release and made her as popular as she is today.”  

Taylor Swift dropped many easter eggs in ‘All Too Well’ short film and ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ music video, can you find them all?