Dawn Images

Don't mess with Taylor Swift is a lesson Gorrillaz member Damon Albarn recently learnt the hard way. Swift is a musician who has publicly fought to get rights over her own songs and re-recorded albums to produce her own versions. After all that labour to get due ownership over your music, when someone stands ups and claims you don't write your own songs, what does one do? If you're Swift, you snap back to refute the claim and add a funny response to shake it off.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Albarn, the frontman of the British virtual band Gorillaz, claimed Swift “doesn’t write her own songs” after the interviewer noted that Swift was a talented songwriter. When the interviewer mentioned Swift also co-writes, Albarn responded, “That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great.”

The Los Angeles Times posted snippets of the interview on Twitter and Swift responded to the part where he made false claims about her music, saying she was a big fan of his until this. "I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging."

The 'All Too Well' singer added that Albarn doesn’t have to like her songs but it’s wrong that he tried to discredit her writing. In a snappier tweet, she wrote, "P.S. I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering."

Albarn was quick to respond to her tweet with an apology saying that he agrees with her and "sadly" his conversation about songwriting "was reduced to clickbait." He added, "The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting."

Friends and fans were outraged and readily offered their support to the 'willow' singer. Jack Antanoff, who's produced several of Swift’s songs and albums, pitched in saying Albarn has never been in his or his studio's vicinity but seems to know more about what goes inside than those present there.

American singer-songwriter Simon Curtis advised the "disillusioned" Albarn to listen to Folklore and Evermore and experience "the greatest living songwriter at the peak of her craft."

Country music star Maren Morris offered a statement in defence of Swift saying, “Writing songs with songwriters means you’re a songwriter.”

This user made the comparison between Swift and Albarn, saying she doesn't who he is but every lyric of Swift's is etched in her memory.

Another user cheered her on.

Baseless claims are always a low blow and it's never good to spread false information. Like Swift said, Albarn has every right to dislike her music but to try and discredit it is absolutely unacceptable.