Taylor Swift is losing the battle of the exes. You know the one we mean, where celebrity exes try to out-nice each other (unless it was a totally nuclear explosion of a breakup) by saying lovely things in the press, being very respectful of each other's privacy, and generally acting like they don't loathe the person they're no longer dating.
Swift seems to be losing the nice-guy battle to Harris in the wake of their breakup. First, there was that statement by her publicist revealing she co-wrote "This Is What You Came For," which kind of stole Harris's thunder on the hit track (though, he did have a little fit of his own over that one). Oh, and then she performed it for millions of people in her only concert of 2016, which was an interesting move. Now, there's her new single "Better Man," which she wrote for the country group Little Big Town. It's not confirmed to be about Harris, but it's not confirmed to not be about him, either. That's an awful lot of shade, don't you think?
How is Harris responding? With a compliment. "I am blessed to work with incredible artists, [Rihanna and Taylor Swift,] thank you!!!" Harris tweeted in response to news that "This Is What You Came For" is the only single to go double-platinum in the U.K. this year.
I am blessed to work with incredible artists @rihanna @taylorswift13 thank you!!! https://t.co/xJrRwrbvr1
— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) November 4, 2016
Is Harris the nicest guy, ever? Is he just tired of Swift's fans all up in his mentions, defending their girl? Or is Taylor Swift letting her nice mask drop on purpose, either in the name of art or catharsis? Your guess is as good as ours.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Swift co-wrote "Better Man." She is the sole writer on the track.