Joseph Quinn Recalls the ‘F—ing Stupid’ Thing He Told Taylor Swift When They First Met

Joseph Quinn was a little too enchanted to meet Taylor Swift. According to the actor, he once crossed paths with the singer and was so starstruck by her, he said something that still haunts him to this day.

The topic of Swift first came up during Quinn’s appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast Tuesday (July 1) when host Josh Horowitz asked whether he had any cringe-worthy memories to share from his early days as a star following his breakout role on Netflix’s Stranger Things in 2022.

“Most of it, yes,” Quinn joked. “There’s stuff that comes out of your mouth … when you’re caught off guard, there’s quite a lot to cringe about.”

“I met Taylor Swift once,” he continued. “She was very funny. She said something nice about the show, and I said, ‘Oh, thanks. You’re Taylor Swift’ — meant as a compliment. I remember thinking, ‘That was f—ing stupid.’ But she was very good-humored about it.”

The A Quiet Place: Day One star also jokingly said that he and Swift are now on “great terms,” quipping that he and the superstar are “trying to figure out” a time to get in the studio together. But while he obviously meant it humorously, their working together wouldn’t be the first time the 14-time Grammy winner has collaborated with a Stranger Things cast member; in 2021, the show’s Sadie Sink starred alongside Dylan O’Brien in Swift’s self-directed “All Too Well” short film.

Plus, co-star Joe Keery — who makes music under the stage name Djo, known for “End of Beginning” — was once spotted at the same studio as Swift. Though he later clarified that their overlap was purely coincidental, he did tease on The Tonight Show in December that it may have “generated something in the universe.”

Listen to Quinn talk about meeting Swift on Happy Sad Confused below.