Let’s be honest. If there’s one thing Matty Healy is going to do at a festival — aside from eating raw meat on stage and flirting with fans— it’s stir the pot. And this time, he didn’t just stir it. He seasoned it, slow-cooked it, and served it to 200,000 people on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.

So what exactly happened?

Mid-performance, in true Matty fashion, he stopped the music, took a sip of beer, and declared:

“I want to be sincere for a second. What this moment is making me realise is that I probably am the best....I’m probably the best songwriter of my generation… a poet, ladies and gentlemen, that’s what I am. A generational wordsmith.”

Now, on the surface, it sounds like typical Matty: a little arrogant, a little theatrical, a little playful. But fans and media alike quickly picked up on the timing and context, because of who Matty Healy is about Taylor Swift.

Image Credit: Markus Maier from Wikimedia Commons

If you’ve never heard of Matty Healy, he’s the lead singer of The 1975, a British band known for weird stage banter and existential lyrics about love, fame, and the internet. Matty’s also known for being… let’s say controversial. He is also the guy Taylor Swift dated for a few intense weeks back in 2023 -their romance lasted only a few weeks, but because both are huge stars, it was very public and followed closely by fans and press.

They were seen together in New York studios, at Taylor’s concerts, and exclusive hangouts.What followed was a period of speculation and interpretation, mostly through music. Taylor’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department, features several songs that many believe are about Matty. Tracks like The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived and Guilty As Sin? hint at a complicated relationship, referencing specific details like vintage typewriters, which Matty is known for.

In this instance, the word “poet” is what hit the nerve, because Taylor Swift’s album uses the poet image heavily, even in its title. To add fuel to the fire, Matty was seen wearing a Peter Pan pin on stage, which some fans linked to Taylor’s song Peter, suggesting that his statement was a pointed, playful jab at her.Matty quickly followed the statement with a joking “I’m kidding,” and then moved on with his set. But it is undeniable that he wanted to be petty to get the attention.

Image Credit: Sally-Marie Böhm from Wikimedia Commons

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The References

For fans, it is clear that there has always been musical dialogue between these two. Take Taylor's album The Tortured Poets Department, for example. The song "Peter" is widely interpreted as a reference to Matty Healy.

"You said you were gonna grow up / Then you were gonna come find me."

The lyrics describe a romantic relationship with someone who is described as "Peter Pan," the one who does not want to grow up. Matty's also used this character to describe himself over the years. During a 2016 interview with Big Issue, he called himself "a sort of emo Peter Pan self-lacerating Pied Piper kind of character"

On the other side, his 2016 song She's American has been speculated to reference Taylor Swift. The song's lyrics describe a romantic relationship with an American girl, and some fans have drawn parallels between the song's themes and Swift's public image. Taylor also sings about being referred to as "the girl of his American dreams" in her song Fresh Out The Slammer.

Image Credit: Paolo V from Wikimedia Commons

Why Does This Matter?

For casual listeners or people who don’t follow celebrity news closely, the whole thing might seem like just another fleeting moment of pop culture drama. But for fans and observers of music as a form of storytelling, it’s a compelling example of how personal relationships influence art — and how artists navigate fame, privacy, and public narratives.

For me it's a fascinating example of two artists using their craft — music, lyrics, public appearances — to process personal history in the spotlight. Their brief relationship has since become a source of creative material for both, and moments like this Glastonbury speech give fans and media a glimpse into their ongoing dynamic.Unlike many celebrity breakups, there’s no public fight or angry social media posts here. Instead, there’s a subtle, ongoing dialogue played out through art and public performance.

The idea of two songwriters — both brilliant, both dramatic in the best way — trading blows through lyrics and live shows? It’s kind of iconic. It’s modern-day Shakespeare and Sylvia Plath with a little Twitter sprinkled in.