Andrew Scott brushes off theories that he inspired the name of Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department with THAT group chat

Andrew Scott has dismissed fans’ wild theories that his WhatsApp group with Joe Alwyn inspired the name of Taylor Swift’s record-breaking album The Tortured Poets Department.

The Sherlock star, 47, addressed the claims in a new interview with Varietyemphasizing that the chat, which he called Tortured Man Club, was a short-lived idea consisting of just “three texts.”

Following the release of The Tortured Poets Department, fans were quick to theorize that Taylor’s album title was an attack on her ex-boyfriend Joe.

In 2022, Joe revealed that a mutual friend had set up a WhatsApp group with him and Andrew’s friend Paul Mescal called The Tortured Man Club.

They later explained to Variety that Andrew “started the group,” with Paul saying, “He’s just working on it every day.” He’s just dealing with it.’

Joe jokingly added, “I’m just sending myself a good morning.”

Andrew has now set the record straight, telling Variety, “Let me tell you what that is!… So they were about to play these tortured characters, and I had played a tortured character in Fleabag.

“It wasn’t about our own characteristics!…I think there were three texts, like, ‘Hey guys.’ You know those groups you create, and they just fall apart.”

Andrew shared his thoughts on Taylor’s new album, adding: ‘Taylor’s new album is sensational!

“I texted her yesterday to say how great it is… I think she’s just a force of nature, just an extraordinary human being, and this album is really, really great.”

During the interview, Andrew revealed that he has come to hate the use of the term “openly gay” when it comes to describing his sexuality.

He said: ‘It’s great to be able to talk about sexuality in an open way. But sometimes I feel like other people (and by other people I mean straight people) don’t have to explain or discuss their sexuality every time they go to work…

‘The idea that I am challenging by just being exactly who I am… Be open about that? Why wouldn’t you be open about it?… But the word ‘openly’ seems a bit loaded to me.’

The All Of Us Strangers star is also promoting his role in Netflix thriller series Ripley, which hit the streaming service earlier this year.

Andrew said: “I found loads that I liked. There’s something about that character that I think a lot of people see themselves in. And I think it has to do with being an outsider…

“He’s probably more of an artistic type, but he doesn’t feel like he has the class to call himself that…

‘I am always very interested in people’s vulnerability. What are they unsure about? What are they hiding? It was difficult to access that…

‘Not everyone is charming and capable, socially skilled and sexy. You have to stand up for people who don’t have it easy. That made me have a certain affection for him.

‘I’m just worried about how it would be perceived, how it would change things for me…

‘When I played James Moriarty [in ‘Sherlock,’] I was younger than people wanted the character to be. And they said, ”I wanted the character to have a beard and wear a top hat, and this little f****r is playing it like that now, and I don’t want that!”

“The biggest challenge for you is to put your dukes on and say, Sorry, but this is this.”

During the interview, Andrew also reflected on the sad passing of his mother Nora after a ‘sudden illness’ just a month before Ripley was released.

He said: ‘It came very suddenly to our family, and it ended up in the middle of all these things. Her spirit is so alive in me in the immediate aftermath of her death… her way of dealing with people was so friendly, but she wasn’t very good at small talk.

‘She connected with people in a very special way. What I was taught was the idea of ​​being authentically yourself… It’s very funny, to be honest.

“I can’t lose sight of the fact that this happened in the middle of all of this.

“The combination of these two extremes in my life, where all these projects are coming out, and I’ve had to be much more public than normal, at a time when I’m going through this extraordinary personal loss.”

Nora’s death was confirmed in a statement on March 9, with relatives adding that she died on Thursday, March 7, surrounded by her family at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

An obituary read: ‘It is with our deepest sorrow that we inform you of the passing of Nora Scott (nee Boyle), beloved wife of Jim, mother of Sarah, Andrew and Hannah.

‘Scott, Sandymount, Dublin, formerly Omagh Co. Tyrone, March 7, 2024 peacefully surrounded by her loving family and best friend Anne, at St Vincent’s Hospital following a sudden illness.

‘Nora will be deeply missed by her beloved husband Jim, her loving children Sarah, Andrew and Hannah.’

In 2018, Nora revealed that Anthony Hopkins sent her “more than three dozen red roses” after finding out she was ill while speaking to Scott on the set of King Lear.

Hopkins, 86, starred as an “English Stalin” in the BBC’s Shakespeare adaptation, with Scott playing Edgar, who becomes Lear’s secret protector.

She told RTE’s Ryan Tubridy at the time: ‘There were probably more than three dozen red roses and attached to them was a card from Anthony saying ‘Be well, sending hugs’ and all kinds of things.”

‘I was very happy to receive such a gift and because of the kind thought behind it.

‘Now that I have recovered, I can enjoy these beautiful roses that adorn our hall. It was such a beautiful gift.’

In January, Scott and his co-star Paul Mescal admitted they weren’t keen on their family members watching their new film, gay drama All Of Us Strangers.

The film stars Scott as a screenwriter who is drawn back to his childhood home and begins a relationship with a mysterious neighbor, played by Mescal, 27.

The film features several intimate scenes between the actors that the couple discussed during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

When asked if their families had seen the film yet, Mescal said: ‘With the Irish premiere it’s a tricky thing to allocate tickets to all the uncles and aunts.

“They’ve seen my ass before, but there’s a little more going on in this movie I’d say!”

Scott added, “I don’t want to be there when my parents watch it!”

Read the full interview in the latest issue of Variety, on sale now.