Calvin Harris has said he acted with the “wrong instinct” when he hit back at ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift last year in a Twitter rant.
The Scottish DJ and record producer made headlines when he became involved in a rift over his hit song with Rihanna This Is What You Came For after it came to light that Swift – who he had recently split from – had co-written the track.
He has now shared his feelings about his outburst, which he said was largely down to him protecting himself.
Calvin Harris (Joe Giddens/PA)
Harris, 33, told GQ magazine: “It was completely the wrong instinct.
“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.”
He pauses. “It’s very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly.”
Harris and US pop star Swift, 27, were in a high-profile relationship for 15 months until last June.
Harris added: “The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicised 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.”
Taylor Swift (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
The chart-topping DJ said that he is “not good at being a celebrity”.
“But when it ended, all hell broke loose,” he added.
“Now I see that Twitter thing as a result of me succumbing to pressure. It took me a minute to realise that none of that matters. I’m a positive guy.
“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… ”
Harris retaliated after a spokesman for Swift confirmed in July that she had been involved in the single, at the same time she was enjoying a new highly-publicised romance with actor Tom Hiddleston.
Harris had written on Twitter: “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.”
He also referenced her apparent feud with fellow singer Katy Perry, adding: “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.”
Harris has just released his latest album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel