Taylor Swift’s whispered but unmistakable “Shut the f**k up!” to gal pal Selena Gomez at the MTV Video Music Awards last Sunday, sparked fury from Directioners, the band themselves, and shock elsewhere, when it was thought the songstress aimed her insult at ex-beau Harry Styles.
At the time it was a reasonable assumption, since the “I Knew You Were Trouble” star was looking at One Direction while Harry spoke onstage at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The boy band were on stage to present the Moonman for Best Pop Video.
Now, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who is also Swift’s tour mate and pal, has stepped into the breach and revealed his friend’s apparent snark wasn’t aimed at Styles at all.
At a recent press conference, Sheeran said Swift’s caught-on-camera obscenity was actually said to Gomez when the Latina expressed doubt she could win. It seems Taylor’s sass was her way of giving Gomez confidence.
“Selena said, ‘I think Miley’s gonna win,’” Sheeran explained . “And Taylor was like, ‘Shut the f— up!’ That’s all that was!”
Just moments later, One Direction presented Gomez with the Moonman for her single “Come and Get It.”
Still, Sheeran admits Swift did mention to him at the time that she thought her seeming diss could be taken out of context.
“Taylor was like, ‘I think I messed up,’” he added .
Ever-helpful, Sheeran went on to talk about all the good Taylor does in a video you can also see below.
His explanation should calm the waters with One Direction and their devoted fans. The “Give Me Love’s” singer’s version of events does seem to make sense seeing as Styles, Swift, and Sheeran posed for a photo together at an VMAs after party and even dined together after the event.
Styles and Swift dated for a few months last year but split in January after a disastrous trip to the British Virgin Islands.