Matty Healy Shades Taylor Swift at Glastonbury With Bold ‘Poet’ Remark

Matty Healy, frontman of The 1975 and one of Taylor Swift’s most controversial exes, has ignited fresh headlines after a pointed onstage remark during his Glastonbury Festival set. With thousands in the audience and cameras rolling, Healy seemingly threw shade at the pop icon by claiming the title of “best songwriter” and—most pointedly—“a poet,” prompting a firestorm of speculation over whether the jab was aimed at Swift and her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department.

“What this moment is making me realize is… I’m probably the best songwriter of my generation,” Healy told the Glastonbury crowd. “The best—uh, what do we say—a poet, ladies and gentlemen, is what I am.”

The timing, tone, and context were impossible to ignore. His remarks came just months after Swift released her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department, a project widely believed to be inspired, at least in part, by her brief and high-profile fling with Healy in 2023. The album, nominated for Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammys, contains lyrics that fans have linked directly to Healy—most notably the scathing track The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.

Though Healy never mentioned Swift by name during his set, fans were quick to make the connection. “He knows exactly what he’s doing,” one Swiftie posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Calling yourself a poet? At Glastonbury? After that album? Come on.”

Their whirlwind romance lasted less than a month, but its ripple effects appear to be ongoing. Swift and Healy, who were briefly linked in 2014, reconnected in 2023 after her split from longtime partner Joe Alwyn. According to Entertainment Tonight, it was producer Jack Antonoff—who collaborates with both artists—who helped rekindle the spark.

“Taylor had a crush on Matty,” a source told ET at the time. “They dated briefly in the past, and it was just the right time to give it another shot.” But it didn’t last long. “They realized they weren’t really compatible,” another insider said. “It fizzled quickly.”

Within weeks of the breakup, Swift began a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, one that has since grown into a media spectacle of its own. Meanwhile, Healy moved on with model Gabriette Bechtel. The pair announced their engagement later that year.

But for many fans, the shadow of Swift looms large in Healy’s creative—and public—life. The Glastonbury moment only deepened that perception. “Matty claiming the ‘poet’ title is just wild,” one viewer noted. “Especially considering Tortured Poets was clearly about him.”

Swift has never publicly confirmed who inspired specific songs from the album, though lyrics from tracks like But Daddy I Love Him, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived have led to widespread speculation. In the latter, Swift delivers a blistering character assassination: “I’ll never forgive the smallest man who ever lived.”

Still, Healy’s own public image has undergone a transformation. Once known for his chaotic behavior and divisive interviews, the British rocker has in recent years attempted to evolve both personally and artistically. “I see my life hopefully getting to a place where I can evolve and change,” he said in a past interview. “But I’ll never forgive the smallest man who ever lived,” Swift’s line echoes in contrast.

Whether Healy’s Glastonbury comment was an intentional dig or an unfortunate coincidence, the fallout is telling. His self-coronation as a generational “poet” will no doubt stir more online battles between his defenders and Swift’s legions of fans, especially as her Tortured Poets tour continues to sell out arenas worldwide.

As for Healy, he may believe he’s moved on—but the poetry, apparently, isn’t finished.