Calvin Harris Reflects on Post-Taylor Swift Breakup Ghostwriting Rant: 'It Was Completely the Wrong Instinct'
Calvin Harris takes back his angry Taylor Swift tweets.
The 33-year-old DJ reflects on his relationship with the "Bad Blood" singer in an interview with British GQ, which took place in the fall of 2016. In the newly released quotes, Harris admits that it was "completely the wrong instinct" to share his thoughts on social media after Swift's team leaked that she had co-written "This Is What You Came For" last year.
The couple dated for 15 months before going their separate ways. While all seemed amicable, things turned nasty when Swift's rep confirmed that she had collaborated with her ex on his smash hit with Rihanna. Harris then took to Twitter to call her out, tweeting, "Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though. I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do."
"It was completely the wrong instinct,” said Harris, who wrote every part of the song except the lyrics. "I was protecting what I see as my one talent in the world being belittled. It felt like things were piling on top of me and that was when I snapped.”
"It’s very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly," he continued. "The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship itself. When we were together, we were very careful for it not to be a media circus. She respected my feelings in that sense."
Adding that he's "not good at being a celebrity," Harris said that after his relationship with Swift ended, "all hell broke loose" and that his ghostwriting rant was "a result of me succumbing to pressure."
"It took me a minute to realize that none of that matters. I’m a positive guy," he confessed. "For both of us, it was the wrong situation. It clearly wasn’t right, so it ended, but all of the stuff that happened afterwards."
Meanwhile, Harris' fifth studio album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, was released on Friday.
The 10-track album includes the previously released singles “Slide” with Frank Ocean and Migos; “Heatstroke” featuring Young Thug, Pharrell Williams, and Ariana Grande; “Rollin” with Future and Khalid; as well as “Feels” featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry, and Big Sean.
For more on Harris, watch the video below.