On Thursday evening, T. Swift and One Direction fans were in for a real treat when Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik's Fifty Shades Darker song, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," was unveiled on Instagram by the pop star herself. She only shared a snippet of the track, which is currently available on iTunes, but that was enough to cause chaos on the internet. For example, people are now saying Harry Styles will get back at Swift by releasing a song with Malik's ex-fiancée, Perrie Edwards. That ridiculous thought needs to stop for a number of reasons.
It really is the most laughable thing ever, because not only are they are all grown adults, but Styles and Swift only dated for a few months. If you want to get technical, they started dating in November 2012 and broke up in January 2013. That is not that long and definitely not what is considered to be a serious relationship by most standards. It's been three years since their split, are they really still trying to "get back at each other"? I'm pretty sure they both have moved on from all that by now and so should everyone else.
Second of all, Malik once being a One Direction member and being in the band with Styles isn't the only reason Swift collaborated with him. They are two huge stars, so why wouldn't they want to work together and create a song for a major film franchise? It's great business for both them and the films. Plus, the "Bad Blood" singer is friends with Gigi Hadid, Malik's girlfriend. I'm sure on more than one occasion, Malik and Swift have spent time hanging out, where they may have even discussed releasing music together. Tying in Styles and Edwards to their song isn't fair to Malik and Swift's hard work.
Furthermore, putting the focus on Styles takes away from Swift's success and defines her by a past relationship. When is a woman, especially a celebrity, going to be able to stand on her own two feet without talk of a former flame inching up behind her and stealing her thunder? Fans should be gushing with excitement over "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," not hoping for some type of revenge from Styles. The same goes for Edwards, who split from Malik in August 2015. She, too, is her own person and talented singer who doesn't need the constant reminder of Styles, including when it comes to her career.
Whether you consider yourself a fan of Swift or not, when is she going to be able to release a song or an album in peace without comments about someone she dated? Thankfully, some people get how ridiculous all of this really is.
It's time to forget about Styles and Swift's relationship from three years ago and start living in the present. And if everyone could also start giving women the credit they deserve without a man somehow stealing her spotlight, that would be great as well.
