Taylor Swift issues a brutal warning about a toxic ex in her new song “Patient Zero” — and fans think she’s referring to her former flame Joe Jonas.
In the new track, which kicks off “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” Swift sings about befriending her ex’s current girlfriend.
She describes herself as “patient zero,” meaning that she was the first to experience the emotional damage caused by his love and manipulation.
“If you wanna party with somebody who might know / About the devil on his shoulder under his halo / When the toxins take their hold, you’d rather die than let it go / But if you’re sick of him, I got you, I was patient zero,” she sings after mentioning that the new girlfriend called her to confide about their issues.
Many Swifties took to social media to point out how reminiscent the situation in the song is to Swift’s real-life dynamic with ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas and his now ex-wife, Sophie Turner.
The pop star dated Jonas about three months in 2008 before he, infamously, dumped her in a 27-second phone call.
Jonas began dating Turner in 2016, and in 2019, she and Swift seemed to become friendly, making several public appearances together.
However, it was the “Game of Thrones” star’s 2023 separation from Jonas that brought her and the Grammy winner especially close.
Swift, notably, offered the actress her New York City apartment as a free, safe space for Turner and her two daughters during the custody and divorce battle with Jonas.
Due to this situation, many Swifties shared their theory that Swift believes she was Jonas’ “patient zero” and ultimately was there to support Turner because of it.
“so my patient zero theory is that she wrote this song for Sophie Turner amidst her very public divorce with Joe Jonas,” one theorized on X. “Joe & Taylor were each other’s first public romances, making her “patient zero”. She heard the rumors about their breakup, & wasn’t surprised when sophie called.”
“I mean Sophie literally moved into her house lol 💯 it’s Sophie/Joe,” another added.
A third wrote, “Probably not about this but patient zero REALLY reminds me of when she and sophie turner became thick as thieves when her and joe jonas broke up.”
Others, however, are convinced Swift is singing about Joe Alwyn, who Swift dated for more than six years.
Many fans came to this conclusion by comparing “Patient Zero” to other songs Swift previously wrote about the “Hamnet” star.
In her 2019 track “Cruel Summer” — widely believed to be about the beginning of their love story — Swift invokes imagery of a devilish guy she fell for in the song’s pre-chorus.
Similarly, the songwriter compares the subject of “Patient Zero” to an angelic-looking devil with the line about her knowing about “the devil on his shoulder under his halo.”
Additionally, her 2022 song “You’re Losing Me,” which is interpreted as being about the slow breakdown of her relationship with British actor, also has a medical theme like “Patient Zero,” with a pulse in the background of the track.
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