Massively successful songwriter Taylor Swift did not take kindly to Damon Albarn claiming that she “doesn’t write her own songs” in a Los Angeles Times interview published Sunday, criticizing the Gorillaz and Blur vocalist on Twitter Monday after the outlet excerpted Albarn’s interview in a tweet.
“I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs,” Swift tweeted, tagging Albarn. “Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.”
“PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering,” she added.
Albarn has since apologized to Swift, seemingly attempting to argue that his quote was taken out of context. “I totally agree with you,” he responded. “I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand. – Damon.”
Swift fans don’t appear to accept Albarn’s apology, and are telling him so en masse, to no one’s surprise. Swift herself has yet to acknowledge it publicly.
For the record, here’s the bit in question from the L.A. Times Albarn interview:
She may not be to your taste, but Taylor Swift is an excellent songwriter.
She doesn’t write her own songs.
Of course she does. Co-writes some of them.
That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great. And some of the greatest singers—I mean, Ella Fitzgerald never wrote a song in her life. When I sing, I have to close my eyes and just be in there. I suppose I’m a traditionalist in that sense. A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother. I’m more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It’s just darker—less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she’s exceptional.
Swift collaborators including Jack Antonoff and Maren Morris have come to her defense, with the former tweeting, “I’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. Herb,” and the latter adding, “Writing songs with songwriters means you’re a songwriter.”
