Joe Alwyn Denies Ever Visiting the London Pub Taylor Swift Mentions in Her Song ‘The Black Dog’

Joe Alwyn says he never went into “some bar called The Black Dog”.

During the interview with The Sunday Times, the actor (33) talked about what he likes to do in his spare time – and the pub that his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift (34) mentioned in her song “The Black Dog” also came up.

“It probably looks pretty similar to yours or anyone else’s – seeing friends, travelling, going to the pub,” he said of his free time, adding. “Can I make a more boring list?”

He was then asked if his favorite pub would be The Black Dog in Vauxhall, London. The Kinds of kindness the actor denied ever visiting the pub that Swift called out on her latest album Department for tortured poets.

“I’ve never been to Vauxhall,” said Alwyn. The publication noted that when he responded, he “gave a smile that suggested he had more to say.”

While some of the songs on Swift’s latest album are speculated to be about her six-year relationship with Alwyn and their breakup, fans think “The Black Dog” is related to another one of her exes: Matty Healy.

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn in 2020.

Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Is Joe Alwyn’s new magazine cover – headlined ‘London Boy’ – a reference to ex Taylor Swift’s songs?

In the song, Swift mentions someone she noticed walking into The Black Dog.

“I’m someone you were with until recent events / You shared your secrets / And your location, you forgot to turn it off,” Swift sings. “And so I watch you enter / Into some bar called the Black Dog / And you make new holes in my heart.”

Swift continues to sing, “I just don’t understand how you don’t miss me / In The Black Dog, when someone plays The Starting Line.”

In a London pub, the black dog that inspired Taylor Swift TTPD A song

Namely, the pop-punk band The Starting Line is mentioned several times on the new album, and Healy’s band The 1975 often cover their music.

The 1975 singer dated Swift for several months in the spring of 2023.

Alwyn and Swift were first romantically linked in May 2017 and were in a relationship until April 2023. Favorite the actor said The Sunday Times that their relationship was “long, loving” and “completely committed.”

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn in 2019.

Getty Images

Joe Alwyn ‘doing well’ and ‘focused on work’ amid Taylor Swift album release: Source (Exclusive)

The pub has started selling merchandise including hoodies, baseball caps, t-shirts and travel mugs since the song’s release. The establishment catered to traveling Swifties by adding the Swift Burger and Black Dog lager to their menu.

Black Dog head of marketing Amy Cowley told PEOPLE in April that the surge in interest, thanks to Swift’s song, “has been surreal.”

“We’ve had a lot of fan demand for merchandise,” Cowley revealed. “We’re creating t-shirts and people are already buying our pint glasses. The number of people who have signed up to our merchandise mailing list is already in the thousands, so we absolutely expect things to sell out as soon as they’re ready.”

Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She added: “We’re quite lucky because we’re already a well-established and well-loved local pub, but that’s the key word, we’re a local pub, so it’s been crazy to get this worldwide attention.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education