It's official: Maggie Gyllenhaal [1] does not have Taylor Swift [2]'s scarf because — prepare yourselves — the scarf from "All Too Well" was never real. Swift revealed this shocking news at the Toronto International Film Festival [3] (TIFF) on Sept. 9. According to the Grammy winner, the red scarf was always just a metaphor.
Swift was at TIFF [4] to promote her 10-minute short-film version of "All Too Well," [5] which stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien. While she was there [6], she discussed her directorial ambitions and why O'Brien was perfect to play the boyfriend in her film ("he's dangerously charming," she explained, per a fan video [7] from the event), but it was the scarf moment that left fans buzzing.
For years, Swifties have believed "All Too Well" is about Swift's relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal [8], whom she dated in 2010. As a result, many listeners assumed the scarf mentioned in the song was real. The original lyrics are: "And I left my scarf there at your sister's house / And you've still got it in your drawer, even now."
This led to Jake's sister, fellow actor Maggie, being asked if she knew the whereabouts of the infamous scarf in a 2017 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen." [9] At the time, she said, "You know, I never understood why everybody asked me about this scarf. What is this?"
Maggie's befuddlement makes even more sense now. As reported by E! News [10], when asked about the scarf at TIFF, Swift clarified that it's simply a metaphor. "The scarf is a metaphor, and we turned it red because red is a very important color in this album, which is called 'Red,'" she explained.
The singer added, "And, I think when I say it's a metaphor, I'm just going to stop, and I'm going to say, thanks for the incredible question, whoever asked it. You've really taken us for a ride."
So there you have it: the mysterious case of Swift's long-missing scarf has finally been cracked by the singer herself.