Miley Cyrus, Shakira, Taylor Swift and the hatred of ex-boyfriends

Miley Cyrus released her song “Flowers” last Friday. Since then, the single has catapulted to the top of the charts. On the one hand, this success is certainly the catchy The melody of the piece, but probably also the date on which it was published.

January 13 was the 33rd birthday of Miley Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. When the song’s release date was announced, fans were already convinced that Miley would sing about her ex in the song. Now there seems to be no doubt about it and theories are piling up on TikTok about what messages the singer has hidden in the hit.

Probably the most popular theory is that the song is supposed to be an answer to the Brunos Mars song “When I was your man”. Liam has revealed in several interviews that the ballad is his favorite song, and that it was even played at the wedding.

Bruno Mars’ hit says “I hope he buys you flowers (…) I hope he takes you to every party because I know you like to dance,” while Miley sings, “I can buy myself flowers (… ) I can go dancing alone.” While this theory sounds plausible, fans also spread rumors that can make those involved uncomfortable.

Liam is now accused of cheating on Miley with 14 women. This claim caused the actor to be ripped apart on social media. Among his Instagram photos are numerous hateful comments, on TikTok his alleged behavior is denounced by fans in ‘statement videos’ and the hashtag #liamhemsworth is trending on Twitter. That’s despite Miley Cyrus confirming after the breakup that they didn’t break up over cheating.

It’s nothing new that fans want to prove their loyalty to their idol by hating their ex. Last week, Shakira released her “diss track” against ex Gerard Piqué. In it she discusses how the footballer cheated on her. This led to a lot of bad news for the athlete.

The fans also fight for their role model if a divorce was peaceful. Jake Gyllenhaal was named TikTok’s Most Hated Man last year after Taylor Swift released a new version of her 2012 hit All Too Well (Taylor’s Version). In the song she talks about her relationship with the actor who is eleven years her senior. However, that came to an end in 2011. The hatred towards Jake was pumped up again after all this time.

Olivia Rodrigo also reportedly wrote her album Sour to deal with her breakup with Joshua Bassett. According to “People” magazine, he then received death threats. It got to the point where the 22-year-old developed heart failure and had to be hospitalized due to the stress caused by the cyberbullying.

In such viral attacks, the musicians are often powerless against the actions of their fans. Artists have always incorporated what they have experienced into their work. That includes divorces. In such situations, certain superfans often cannot abstract what their threats can achieve. They want to protect their idol and therefore insult their ex-partner.

But in the end, their attacks hit real people with real feelings. The anonymity of the internet also tempts people to write things they would never say in real life.