Tim Rice has said he would avoid dating Taylor Swift because she ‘slaughters’ the men she dates in her music (Picture: James Gourley/Shutterstock)
If Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce ever call it quits, there’s one person we know the global pop superstar won’t be rebounding with: 79-year-old lyricist Sir Tim Rice.
Sir Tim – who wrote the lyrics for musicals like Evita, Chess, and The Lion King – recently said that if the 34-year-old singer asked him out, he’d be forced to turn her down because ‘every time she falls out with somebody the poor bloke gets slaughtered in her next song.’
The Oscar-winning auteur discussed his feelings about pop music with The Times, saying that while artists like Olivia Rodrigo have ‘some great musicianship,’ he thinks she and Swift sound ‘unhappy.’
He quipped about Taylor Swift’s penchant for immortalising her personal dramas in her songs, remarking, ‘Every time she falls out with somebody, the poor bloke gets slaughtered in the next song. In the unlikely event that Taylor Swift asked me out, I would say no.’
Sir Tim probably doesn’t have much to worry about. Swift is currently romantically linked with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, with who she’s recently been enjoying a romantic sun-soaked getaway to Eleuthera after finishing the Asia leg of her Eras Tour.
Aside from his remarks about Swift, Sir Tim divulged his admiration for PG Wodehouse, citing the Jeeves and Wooster novels as influential in his work with Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Tim Rice is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics to The Lion King with Elton John (Picture: Getty Images)
He also revealed his favourite piece of music to be Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony, praising its Scandinavian allure.
Delving into his literary preferences, Sir Tim expressed fondness for Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and anticipation for James Graham’s Dear England.
He also shared his current fascination with the Leonardo da Vinci box set by Ken Burns and his eternal admiration for the TV series Frasier.
The esteemed lyricist’s eclectic taste extended to film and poetry, with Genevieve standing out as his favourite film and Roger McGough’s Let Me Die a Young Man’s Death as his preferred poem.
Swift is probably not overly crushed that she didn’t make Rice’s list of favourites, given that news broke this week that she’s officially a billionaire, the first to earn the majority of her money off her music career alone.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been dating since at least September 2023 (Picture: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Rice joins the likes of Eamonn Holmes, a GB News presenter, 64, who also asserted that he wouldn’t like to date Swift.
He told viewers of his show: ‘Here’s my view on Taylor Swift,’ Eamonn declared, before continuing: ‘She is a bitter woman. She is bitter. I wouldn’t like to have dated her.’
Swift has long been criticised for her tell-all lyrics that tend to reveal intimate details of her real life relationships, but its undeniable that its this very authenticity that has caused so many fans across the world to connect with her music.
While these old men loudly make their distaste for Swift known, she’s busy selling out stadiums and cementing herself among the most iconic and beloved musicians of all time.
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