Another tortured poet has finally raised their quill. Over a week after Taylor Swift surprisingly name-dropped Charlie Puth on her album The Tortured Poets Department, Puth responded to the shoutout with a subtle Instagram Story. He has yet to actually say how he feels about being hailed as someone who should be “a bigger artist,” but it seems like he’s a fan of the project.
Swifties have been closely monitoring Puth’s social media ever since The Tortured Poets Department dropped on April 19. In the album’s title track, Swift sings about an ex whom she recalls discussing Puth with: “You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” Although the lyric seems to be praising Puth’s artistry, the singer didn’t seem to immediately react to the name-drop that had the whole internet talking. Puth was radio silent on social media until April 28, when he finally posted for the first time sine his Tortured Poets shoutout. He simply reposted Swift’s Instagram celebrating her album making over two and a half million dollars in first-week sales. Puth didn’t add a message, but the share seemed to indicate he heard the lyric about him and approved.
The Puth lyric caught Swifties by surprise, mainly because Swift and Puth aren’t really known to have any history together. If anything, it would actually seem like they may be more antagonistic than friendly, as Puth has worked with Swift’s ex Calvin Harris and has had tension with Swift’s close friend Selena Gomez. But it sounds like Swift does have a soft spot for Puth’s music, and Puth is celebrating the mention.
The post that Puth shared included various studio photos from the Tortured Poets recording process, which Swift posted to thank her fans for making her new album her best-selling in first-week sales to date. Notably, Swift also teased her May 9 return to the Eras Tour in the message, another potential clue that she’s planning to add a Tortured Poets section to her setlist.