When John Mayer Criticized Taylor Swift for Writing 'Dear John': "It Was a Lousy Thing to Do"

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is finally out for streaming. And it has definitely left John Mayer wondering what could've should've would've happened if Taylor Swift never wrote Dear John. Even though Swift never revealed who the song was actually about, Mayer always assumed it was written about him. He had previously revealed that he did not think it was a "cool" thing to do.

During a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, the singer publicly expressed his sentiments about Swift's song Dear John. The track was a song letter that Swift had written for the older singer, reflecting their short-lived and seemingly unsatisfactory romantic involvement. 

Swift's brief romance with Mayer generated a significant amount of fandom fervor at the time. The duo was linked prior to the release of her third studio album, Speak Now in 2010, when he was 32 and she was 19. This relationship solidified Mayer's reputation as a villain in the eyes of Swifties, making it one of the few relationships that garnered such intense reactions.

About Dear John, Mayer said, "It made me feel terrible because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do." This was not the first time that the New Light singer spoke up about his breakups. In August of 2008, Mayer held a spontaneous press conference to address his past relationship with Jennifer Aniston, as noted by People at the time.

Mayer further added about Swift's song: "I never got an email, I never got a phone call. I was really caught off-guard, and it really humiliated me at a time when I'd already been dressed down.

I mean, how would you feel if, at the lowest you've ever been, someone kicked you even lower?" During the Rolling Stone interview, Mayer criticized Dear John as being a form of cheap songwriting, "I will say as a songwriter that I think it's kind of cheap songwriting. I know she's the biggest thing in the world, and I'm not trying to sink anybody's ship, but I think it's abusing your talent to rub your hands together and go, 'Wait till he gets a load of this!' That's bulls—," he said 

The lyrics of the song contained sharp and clever lines such as: "Don't you think nineteen is too young / To be played by your dark twisted games / When I loved you so?” as well as, “Don't you think I was too young to be messed with? / The girl in the dress, cried the whole way home / I should've known."

Exactly when Swift and Mayer's relationship came to an end remains uncertain. Some sources suggest that it concluded in February 2010, after a mere two months of dating. Others believed they were still together during the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in June 2010. At the event, they shared a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Apart from their breakup songs, neither Swift nor Mayer have openly discussed the separation.

Before the release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Swift performed Dear John as the surprise song during the Eras Tour in Minneapolis on Saturday. Along with the performance, she kindly requested her fans not to harass the presumed inspiration behind the song. “I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote, So what I’m trying to tell you that I’m not putting this album out so you should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago," Swift said.

According to Rolling Stone, this was the first time in 11 years that the Anti-Hero songstress gave a live performance of the Speak Now track. The song, originally released in 2010, is set to be included in the re-recorded version of Speak Now, which was released today. Following the performance, Swift expressed her appreciation for her fanbase's "kindness" but also urged for that same kindness and gentleness to be reflected in their online interactions. The last time Swift performed the song was in March 2012, as per Complex.