How Actress Emma Laird Got Dragged Into Taylor Swift & Joe Alwyn's Breakup Drama

Taylor Swift's dedicated fanbase is known as the Swifties, and they've seen her be scrutinized by the public and the media countless times. Some Swifties' desire to come to Swift's defense means others get that same kind of negative treatment — which is likely the opposite of what Swift would want. An example of this happened after Swift and her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn split. The news of their breakup went public in April 2023, and it was shocking. At the time, five of Swift's albums featured love songs inspired by Alwyn, and many thought their love would last forever.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. "Conversations with Friends" actor Alwyn received a lot of hate following the split, even though an insider told Entertainment Tonight "it was not dramatic" and "the relationship had just run its course." When Emma Laird, his co-star for "The Brutalist," shared a collection of photos on Instagram that featured Alwyn shortly after the split, she started receiving hate as well.

The post, captioned "Moments in March" with a heart and video camera emoji, was a collection of pictures with many of Laird's friends and co-stars. Swifties latched onto the shot of Alwyn on a Lime scooter. Since the photos were shared so shortly after Alwyn and Swift's breakup was announced, some wondered if it was a sign that Alwyn and Laird had been together and that was part of why Swift and Alwyn broke up.

Emma Laird turned off the comments function on her post with the photo of Joe Alwyn. According to Buzzfeed News, when comments were still on, some people chastised Laird for being "the other woman." One person wrote, "Lady I hope you're not proud for being the other woman to a boring poor man." The fact that Alwyn was on a scooter in the picture made the situation worse, due to Swift's contentious history and feud with Scooter Braun. One fan on X mentioned the odd timing of Laird's post and added, "who do we know that has serious beef [with] scooter braun ? taylor."

More of Laird's Instagram posts that don't have any Alwyn connection were flooded with similar comments. A post of a Michael Myers cake from August 2023 was filled with Swifties quoting Swift's song "The Great War" with the line, "Somewhere in the haze got a sense IVE [sic] been betrayed." Someone else commented the release date for the "1989 (Taylor's Version)" album.

Swifties didn't learn a lesson after knowing how hurt Swift was because of her Kanye West and Kim Kardashian feud. They have also commented snake emojis on some of Laird's posts, including her Christmas 2023 post, despite there being no proof that she and Alwyn were anything more than friends (and Laird was seen getting cozy with Matt Smith later in 2023).

After the infamous scooter post, an insider told The Sun that Emma Laird and Joe Alwyn were just friends: "Emma has been there for Joe since news of his split from Taylor [Swift] emerged. Joe struggles with fame and enjoyed hanging out with Emma in Hungary, where he wouldn't be recognised." The outlet also connected the opening line of Swift's song "London Boy" to the scooter picture.

Although Alwyn and Laird are merely friends, Swifties ran with the narrative that Swift was wronged by them. Laird was caught in the crossfire once more when Swift announced her album "The Tortured Poets Department." Releasing April 2024, some believe it will take shots at Alwyn. Another of Laird's Instagram posts includes Swift-related comments, with some even advising her to "turn off your comments" when the new album drops. 

Many Swifties are unhappy with the harassment of Laird. In one thread on the Fauxmoi gossip subreddit, someone said, "How are swifties not embarrassed." A self-proclaimed fan replied, "I'm a swiftie and trust me there are plenty of us that are embarrassed! This is mortifying." In a thread from the SwiftlyNeutral subreddit discussing Laird's treatment on Instagram (especially in the wake of "The Tortured Poets Department" announcement), similar sentiments were shared. Some even felt Swift needed to speak up on the hate Laird and Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriends have received. Swift doesn't often get involved in social media drama, so the chances of that happening are slim.