Taylor Lautner says he feels 'safe' with revisit of Taylor Swift relationship on rerecorded album
Taylor Swift may be headed "Back to December" with her latest album, but the romantic nostalgia doesn’t scare ex-boyfriend Taylor Lautner.
Lautner, who famously dated Swift in the late 2000s, revealed his thoughts on the upcoming release of Swift’s album "Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)," a rerecorded version of Swift's 2010 album of the same name, in an interview with "Today" published Tuesday.
The album features "Back to December," a mournful breakup song long been rumored to be about Swift's relationship with the "Twilight" star. But Lautner appeared to be unfazed by the stroll down memory lane.
"I think it's a great album. Yeah, I feel safe," Lautner told the outlet. "Praying for John."
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The "John" in question is most likely singer-songwriter John Mayer, whom Swift dated when she was 19 and he was 32. The age gap in the singers' relationship became the subject matter of the scathing "Speak Now" ballad "Dear John," boasting lyrics such as "Don't you think 19 is too young / To be played by your dark twisted games, when I loved you so?"
Lautner put a comical spin on the Mayer reference with the help of wife Taylor Dome. On Wednesday, Dome posted a video of Lautner on TikTok that showed her husband kneeling down on the floor and bringing his hands together in prayer as Swift's "Dear John" played.
"#prayforjohn," the video's caption read.
Lautner later clarified the playful dig during an appearance on "The Happy Hour" on "Today" Show Radio Wednesday.
"I don't know if it was the wisest thing to say. I was definitely joking," Lautner told co-host Donna Farizan, adding that Dome knew the comment would go viral. "She's like, that's gonna really trigger the Swifties."
He added: "I personally think John is a very talented musician, but I am aware of a couple songs that were on that album."
"Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)," set for a July 7 release, follows the release of Swift’s rerecorded albums "Fearless (Taylor’s Version)" and "Red (Taylor’s Version)" in 2021. After teasing the album’s announcement in a series of cryptic clues, Swift confirmed the summer release during an Eras tour stop at Nashville's Nissan Stadium earlier this month.
Alongside singles "Mine," "Mean" and "Back To December," the album will also include six songs from Swift’s unreleased vault, the singer later confirmed via social media.
"The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness," Swift wrote on Instagram. "I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing… and living to speak about it.”
Due to a songwriting ownership battle with previous label Big Machine, Swift began releasing rerecorded versions of her first six albums in 2021. Called "Taylor's Version," the albums typically debut with a handful of previously unreleased songs and collaborations, such as the 10-minute version of fan-favorite "All Too Well" and 2021 Chris Stapleton duet "I Bet You Think About Me."
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Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY; Matthew Leimkuehler, Nashville Tennessean
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taylor Lautner talks ex Taylor Swift's rerecording of 'Speak Now'