Taylor Swift says she ‘was a functioning alcoholic’ in new ‘TTPD’ song ‘Fortnight’

Taylor Swift hints at once having a drinking problem in her highly anticipated new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

“I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she sings in the album’s opening track, “Fortnight.” “I was a functioning alcoholic ’til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.”

It’s unclear whether Swift was talking about herself or took creative liberties with her songwriting.

The songstress revealed in December 2023 that she had stopped drinking months before embarking on her rigorous Eras Tour.

8

8

Despite admittedly touring “like a frat guy” in the past, Swift ultimately decided to keep her sober Lifestyle going while on the road.

“Doing that show with a hangover…I don’t want to know that world,” she told Time.

However, the 14-time Grammy winner has loosened her reigns and has been spotted indulging in a drink or two while hanging out with boyfriend Travis Kelce.

While it’s unclear if Swift’s “Fortnight” lyrics were about herself, fans might get a better understanding of the meaning behind the Post Malone duet in the upcoming music video, which is set to drop at 8 p.m. ET.

8

8

Swift, 34, announced that “Fortnight” was the record’s lead single and getting a video on Thursday afternoon.

“I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,” the songstress wrote on Instagram. “I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight.”

Swift also teased a potential fan interactive challenge called the “For a Fortnight Challenge.” However, she did not reveal any other details about it.

Malone has also spoken candidly about his struggles with alcohol in the past, telling Howard Stern in 2022 that he was “bodying fifths” of vodka regularly while just “trying to hang in there.”

8

8

It wasn’t until he met his partner and later welcomed his daughter that the rocker moved on from that “really rough point.”

“I just have super beautiful people around me, and I met a really beautiful person that made me feel like a human being again,” he said of his fianceé, whose identity has been kept private.

---

For more Page Six you love…

• Listen to our weekly “We Hear” podcast
• Shop our exclusive merch

---

“It’s the guidance out of the dark into the light … She saved my f—ing life — it’s pretty epic.”

The “Cruel Summer” singer briefly met Malone in 2018 at the Billboard Music Awards, where she saw him backstage and congratulated him on the success of his song “Better Now.”

8

8

Although the pair didn’t collaborate until now, they have always had nothing but great things to say about one another.

“I recently got to hang out with her and she is genuinely one of the most kind and considerate people [and] a f—king hell of a songwriter,” Post said of Swift in an interview with Howard Stern in October 2023.

The “Congratulations” singer even linked up with Swift and Kelce in Las Vegas following the former’s Super Bowl win.

Malone, who performed “America the Beautiful” at the big Game, joined the couple and the entire Kansas City Chiefs team at Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World Las Vegas, where they were all seen hanging out and drinking together.