Simu Liu hosted the People’s Choice Awards on Monday, February 19, and he showed the rest of Hollywood how to make a Taylor Swift joke and do it right.
“Finally, for the most iconic pop culture moment of the year, who could forget that one little movie about a blonde American icon that had the entire country dressing up, dancing the night away, and making huge waves at the box office,” he said.
“I’m talking of course about Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie. Oh, I’m sorry did you think I was gonna say the other,” Liu added referring to Barbie, a movie he starred alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in.
Watch the video above.
READ MORE: Furious text exchange spelled the end of Paris romance
And while Liu’s joke was well received by those in the room, fans watching from home saw the moment in a different light when the camera’s zoomed in on none other than Tom Hiddleston, Swift’s ex-boyfriend.
The duo dated for three months back in 2016, and judging by Hiddleston’s reaction to Liu’s joke, there’s no bad blood between the famous duo.
However, their relationship wasn’t smooth sailing, with fans and media all speculating that it was nothing more than a PR.
It all started at the 2016 Met Gala; Swift was co-chair of the event, and at the time was dating DJ Calvin Harris, but later in the night videos emerged of her and Hiddleston on the dance floor busting a move to T.I.’s 2004 hit Bring Em Out.
Watch the video above.
The two seemed to be enjoying themselves, but made sure to keep a friendly distance.
About a month later, news broke that Swift and Harris had parted ways, and the internet immediately started speculating if their split had anything to do with her blossoming friendship with Hiddleston.
However, a source close to the couple told People that “there was no drama” involved with the breakup and “no one cheated.”
READ MORE: Taylor Swift spotted out for dinner in Sydney
According to a source that spoke with Us Weekly at the time, Hiddleston heard news of the split and began “reaching out” to Swift.
“[Tom] really courted her,” the source shared. “He liked her and saw an opportunity when she was suddenly single, and he went for it.”
It wasn’t until June 15 that the internet was sent into a frenzy when images of HiddleSwift getting cosy on Rhode Island emerged.
https://twitter.com/HiddleSwiftAF/status/744198614671458304
They made their first public appearance just six days later attending Selena Gomez’s concert in Nashville.
While they were in town, Hiddleston also got the honour of being introduced to Swift’s parents Scott and Andrea before the couple headed out to a date night at farm-to-fork restaurant, Adele’s.
Swift and Hiddleston had soon ventured to Europe, vacationing in Rome and paying a visit to Hiddleston’s family in England, and by June 26 a source had told People that the duo had “fallen for each other very quickly,” adding that, “They’re very close for people who have only been dating for a couple of weeks.”
The Fourth of July party that Swift held at her home in Rhode Island gifted the internet with the iconic image of Swift on Hiddleston’s lap, alongside Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, as well as Swift’s childhood friend Britany LaManna and her husband.
READ MORE: ‘Not going to cancel’: Proof Taylor Swift won’t pull plug on shows
The duo were doing very little to hide their relationship from the public eye, and that fact had plenty of fans speculating that rather than being two people in love, Swift and Hiddleston was nothing but a PR stunt.
Following the Fourth of July celebrations, the couple took a trip to Australia where Hiddleston was preparing to shoot Thor: Ragnarok.
Just days after Swift had left, the actor was interviewed over the phone by The Hollywood Reporter and he took the opportunity to shut down the rumours of a PR relationship.
“The truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we’re very happy. Thanks for asking,” he said. “That’s the truth. It’s not a publicity stunt.”
Throughout July and August the couple continued to be public with their relationship, seen out at dinners when Hiddleston was back in the states and the Thor actor even created an Instagram account for the first time, which Swift quickly followed.
However by September 6, 2016, it was all over for HiddleSwift.
Just three months after their relationship began, a source confirmed to People that Swift and Hiddleston had gone their separate ways, adding that the duo had “an amicable split.”
A source who spoke to US Weekly shared that Swift was the one who decided to end the relationship, “[she] was the one to put the brakes on the relationship. Tom wanted the relationship to be more public than she was comfortable with.”
While Swift never spoke publicly about the split, Hiddleston was asked in numerous interviews about his thoughts on the break up.
READ MORE: The budget ‘mistake’ most families make and how to fix it
In March, 2017 in an interview with The Telegraph, the actor was asked if he “regretted” how public the duo had made their relationship, a question he didn’t seem to like too much.
“What should I regret, in your mind?,” he said. “I would rather not talk about this if that’s all right.”
And reporters never gave up on the idea of the relationship being a PR stunt, with the actor once again shutting down the rumour in February 2017.
Speaking with GQ, the actor said “Taylor is an amazing woman. She’s generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time. Of course, it was real.”
For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here