Taylor Swift Asks Fans Not to ‘Defend Me’ During Rare ‘Dear John’ Performance in Minneapolis

Taylor Swift is urging Swifties to show “kindness and gentleness” on the internet ahead of her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album release.

The onstage request arrived during the surprise songs portion of Swift’s Eras Tour set at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday (June 24), when the 33-year-old pop superstar introduced “Dear John,” her 2010 ballad about a toxic relationship with an older man, widely assumed to be the singer’s ex-boyfriend John Mayer.

“I get to stand on this stage every single night of this tour and watch some of the most beautiful things happen,” Swift told the roaring audience. “I watch you guys make friends with each other. I watch you bond. I watch you give each other friendship bracelets.”

She continued, “I see so many beautiful interactions happen, and I hear so many stories about friends that were made at these shows. I watch it happen, and it’s the most unbelievable thing to watch.”

The “Anti-Hero” songstress then asked her fans to show “that kindness and that gentleness” on the internet when she drops Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on July 7.

“I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19,” Swift said. “I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

“Dear John” appeared on Swift’s third album, Speak Now, in 2010. The track peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Swift and Mayer dated briefly in 2009 when she was 19 years old and he was 32.

The Minneapolis concert marked Swift’s first time performing “Dear John” since a 2012 concert in New Zealand, according to Rolling Stone. Watch the performance here.