Taylor Swift’s version of Speak now includes controversial lyrics changes – how fans react

Swift re-recorded and re-released her first six albums in a bid to regain control of the master recordings of her effort after a very messy sale of those masters. However, reshoots also provide an opportunity to rewrite the story, or at least tweak it a bit.

That’s exactly what Swift did with one of her most controversial lyrics of all time. The fans quickly noticed the change in “Better Than Revenge”. 13 years after it was first published, “She’s an actress but she’s better known for the things she does on the mattress” hasn’t aged well.

However, the phrase has now been changed to read, “She’s an actress, he was a moth to the flame, she held the matches.” The song is believed to have been written about a real person (Joe Jonas’ next girlfriend after Swift, Camilla Belle). While Swift never confirms or denies any real-life inspirations, this new line certainly fits better some fans.

For years, Swift has insisted that women shouldn’t be judged on who they date and how they date. That forceful stance has only made the line more problematic in hindsight, with many interpreting it as “slut shaming,” something at odds with everything Swift stands for.

Of course, she originally wrote the song when she was 19 or 20 years old. A surprising amount of thought and social media discussion centered on whether the adult Swift, at 33, should update the song to reflect her current values, or stick with the original in the re-recording to preserve the original.

This posed a bit of a dilemma for some Swiftie purists, because regardless of their opinion on the text itself, the change means that this is not a retake of the original title, but rather a reinterpretation of it. Would they have to go against the spirit of this project and stream the original release to fully experience it as written by a scared, frustrated young adult?

Many fans expressed their mixed feelings about the change on social media, as the topic quickly dominated the overall discussion and the re-release itself tended to dominate.

Though Swift didn’t directly acknowledge the change she made, she did tout the album’s release on her social media accounts.

“It is here. It’s yours, it’s mine, it’s ours,” she captioned her post on Instagram. “It’s an album I wrote solely about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, drama and tragedies that I experienced as a young woman between the ages of 18 and 20.”

She reminded fans that in making the album, she had to be “ruthless” in picking tracks, leaving a few she still loves. As such, like previous re-releases, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) includes an additional half-dozen From the Vault tracks.

You can watch her full statement below, followed by some of the best and funniest reactions to this lyrical shift as the Swifties process this new, softer, kinder reality. The one where she already told them to fire John Mayer (whom Dear John may or may not be about).