If you’re Taylor Swift’s ex, you can expect one of two things (or both): One, that you will inevitably have a song written about you. Two, that fans will always be watching. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is pretty familiar with the former, but the second part he had to recently learn the hard way.
The Nightcrawler actor took to Instagram to celebrate a partnership between New Eyes, an organization that donates glasses to people in need, and The Inspire Project, called Project Human. Both non-profits launched this speaker series in order to “to spark conversations focusing on unity and equality” in schools and for remote learners. Alongside a caption promoting Project Human, Gyllenhaal shared a black-and-white photo of himself wearing glasses as a child.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
“I’ve worn my glasses ever since I parted my hair meticulously with gel (see above), which is why NEW EYES has always been near and dear to my heart,” he wrote. “Since 1932, @neweyes_ has provided eyeglasses to people who needed them most. I’m thrilled that they’ve partnered with @theinspireprojectus to create Project Human: Changing the Way We See the World, a speaker series coming to schools and remote learners this fall. Project Human is designed to spark conversations focusing on unity and equality. It’s an opportunity for students to interact with public figures and do what they do best: Keep ‘em on their toes!’”
But while this seems like a pretty innocuous photo to the average bystander, Swifties spied a deeper meaning. In the singer's fan-favorite 2012 song “All Too Well,” which is widely assumed to be about Swift's three-month relationship with Gyllenhaal in 2010, Swift wrote the lyric, "You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed."
Fans flooded the post with comments with the song's lyrics and their apparent accuracy. Swifties love being right. To them, this all but confirms that the song is about him, and that Swift's famed "scarf" described in the song was left at his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal's house. The comments were so much that The Inspire Project has since urged fans to use their energy and collective power to donate to Project Human.
If this wasn’t intentional on Gyllenhaal's part, then, well, he really did walk right into this one. And if it was done on purpose in order to give this cause more attention, then well-played. (And how very Swift of him indeed).