One of Taylor Swift’s exes, Joe Alwyn, was brutally trolled across social media after the announcement of her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce.
Swift and Kelce, both 35, broke the internet, sending fans into a frenzy with a joint Instagram post confirming their engagement.
However, for many Swifties, the next step was turning the spotlight on the 34-year-old actor, seemingly eager to make him feel the sting of regret.
What fueled the trolling even further was a comment made by Instagram’s official account on X (formerly Twitter), under the announcement post.
“No paper rings here [ring emoji ],” cult Swifties immediately interpreted the line as a direct jab at the Hamnet actor.
The 14-time Grammy winning singer reportedly wrote 32 songs about Alwyn, whom she dated from 2016 to 2023.
One of such songs was Paper Rings from the album Lover in released in 2019, in which she sings, “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings.”
A pro-Swift fan account quickly picked up on the comment, igniting the speculations, “No paper rings here. The shade!???”
Other fans joined in with sharp and sarcastic takes with one writing, “Helppp the way Instagram wacked Joe Alwyn omg??!!”
Another shared a photo of the Cruel Summer chart topper’s engagement ring and directed a message at her ex saying, “Was that so hard, @Joe Alwyn?”
However, not everyone found it funny. Some of Alwyn’s fans jumped to his defense, criticising Swifties for dragging him into the spotlight yet again.
One user wrote, “I do not understand why Swifties insist on bashing Joe every chance they get.”
“Taylor got engaged and your first thought is joe? oh joe, you’re always famous in their empty brain,” another wrote sarcastically.
For the unversed, the Bad Blood songstress and The Brutalist star dated privately from 2016 to 2023, keeping most of their relationship out of the public eye.
It’s widely believed they first met at the 2016 Met Gala, and by 2017, Swift confirmed her song Gorgeous was about him.
Engagement rumours swirled in 2019 as their relationship appeared to grow more serious. The couple reportedly split in early 2023.
Since then, Swift has gone on to dominate headlines with her music, The Eras Tour, and now her engagement. Alwyn, meanwhile, has stayed largely out of the spotlight, quietly working on his film and television projects.
