Taylor Swift breaks down ‘Patient Zero’ inspiration as fans think lyrics diss ex Joe Jonas

Taylor Swift’s latest lyrics are better than revenge.

The pop star issued a brutal warning about a toxic ex in her new song “Patient Zero” — and fans believe she was referring to former flame Joe Jonas, despite the singer claiming it was inspired by a friend’s situation.

In the new track off “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” out Friday, Swift sings about befriending her ex’s new girlfriend.

She describes herself as “patient zero” — meaning she was the first to experience the emotional damage caused by the unnamed partner’s love and manipulation — and recalls the new girlfriend confiding in her about the couple’s issues.

“If you wanna party with somebody who might know / About the devil on his shoulder under his halo / When the toxins take their hold, you’d rather die than let it go / But if you’re sick of him, I got you, I was patient zero,” she sings.

Many Swifties took to social media to claim the situation was reminiscent to Swift’s real-life dynamic with Joe Jonas and his now-ex-wife, Sophie Turner.

The Grammy winner briefly dated Jonas in 2008 before he, infamously, dumped her in a 27-second phone call.

Jonas began dating Turner in 2016, and in 2019, she and Swift seemed to become friendly, making several public appearances together.

However, it was the “Game of Thrones” alum’s 2023 separation from Jonas that brought her and the songwriter especially close.

Swift, notably, offered Turner her New York City apartment as a free, safe space for the actress and her two daughters during her custody and divorce battle with Jonas.

Due to this situation, many Swifties shared their theory that Swift believes she was Jonas’ “patient zero” and ultimately supported Turner because of it.

“so my patient zero theory is that she wrote this song for Sophie Turner amidst her very public divorce with Joe Jonas,” one theorized on X. “Joe & Taylor were each other’s first public romances, making her ‘patient zero.’ She heard the rumors about their breakup, & wasn’t surprised when sophie called.”

“I mean Sophie literally moved into her house lol 💯 it’s Sophie/Joe,” another added.

A third wrote, “Probably not about this but patient zero REALLY reminds me of when she and sophie turner became thick as thieves when her and joe jonas broke up.”

Others, however, are convinced Swift is singing about Joe Alwyn, who Swift dated for more than six years.

Many fans came to this conclusion by comparing “Patient Zero” to other songs Swift previously wrote about the “Hamnet” star.

In her 2019 track “Cruel Summer” — widely believed to be about the beginning of their love story — Swift invoked imagery of a devilish guy she fell for in the song’s pre-chorus.

Similarly, the songwriter compared the subject of “Patient Zero” to an angelic-looking devil with the line about her knowing about “the devil on his shoulder under his halo.”

Additionally, her 2022 song “You’re Losing Me,” which is interpreted as being about the slow breakdown of her relationship with the British actor, also featured a medical theme like “Patient Zero,” with a pulse in the background of the track.

Swift, however, shared the song’s inspiration with Capital FM on Friday, saying, “I was hanging out with a bunch of friends, and one of my friends told us that she had been reached out to by the new girlfriend of an ex of hers, asking for guidance on if she had had the same experiences with this guy.

“Everyone in our group just immediately started saying like, ‘Oh, I’ve been through that too’, and telling the stories of when this kind of reach out had happened for them,” she continued.

Reps for Swift, Jonas and Alwyn did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.