Emma Stone Explains Why She “Definitely Won’t Make A Joke” About Taylor Swift Again

Nothing can mess with your reputation more than cracking a joke targeted at Taylor Swift. Just take it from Emma Stone.

Following her Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy victory at the Golden Globes last month for her starring role in Poor Things, Stone was interviewed backstage alongside the film’s cast and crew in attendance, per Entertainment Tonight.

In a video of the moment captured by ET, a reporter brought up Swift’s “huge applause” for Stone after she won. When asked to weigh in on the moment, Stone teased, “What an asshole, am I right?”

As she jokingly walked away from the mic and laughter erupted around her, Stone returned and clarified, “No, I’ve known her for almost 20 years, so I was very happy she was there. And she was also nominated tonight, which was wonderful. And, yes, what an asshole.”

While many observers and outlets understood Stone’s comment for what it was — a joke — some didn’t interpret it that way.

“I definitely won’t make a joke like that again,” Stone told Variety in response to the adverse reaction, “because I saw headlines that really pulled it out of context.”

She ultimately pointed at herself and quipped, “What a dope.”

According to Us Weekly, the two met at at the Young Hollywood Awards in 2008 and have been pals ever since. Many fans have made the argument that Stone is the subject of Swift’s “When Emma Falls In Love,” particularly with respect to her relationship with her ex Andrew Garfield, per Billboard.

Stone wasn’t the only one to make headlines for a joke about Swift that night. Golden Globes host Jo Koy incorporated the “Anti-Hero” singer into his material, highlighting her presence at Chiefs games this past NFL season in support of her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

“As you know, we came on after a football doubleheader,” he said at the time. “The biggest difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”

The joke even elicited a cringe and an intense stare from Swift herself.

Koy addressed the quip the next day on GMA3, confessing that it was “a little flat” and “weird,” but that “it was more on the NFL,” per Variety.

“I was trying to make fun of the NFL using cutaways and how the Globes didn’t have to do that,” he shared. “So it was more of a jab toward the NFL. But it just didn’t come out that way.”