Actor Reflects on the Honor of Having His Children’s Names Featured in Swift’s Folklore Track
Ryan Reynolds has expressed his and wife Blake Lively’s flattery regarding Taylor Swift’s choice to include the names of their three daughters in her song “Betty.” In July 2020, Swift revealed that the song, part of her Folklore album, was inspired by the couple’s youngest daughter, Betty, born in October 2019, as well as their older daughters, James, six, and Inez, four.
Speaking during a SiriusXM Town Hall event with Jess Cagle, Reynolds shared his thoughts on the matter, emphasizing the trust he and Lively have in Swift. “The names are the names of our kids, but you know, we trust her implicitly, and she’s very sensitive to any of that stuff,” he remarked. He clarified that while their daughters’ names are used in the song, the lyrics themselves do not relate to them, as the track tells a fictional story of a 17-year-old boy named James dealing with the fallout of cheating on Betty.
Reynolds described the inclusion of his daughters’ names as “an honour” and expressed his amazement at the coincidence. “We thought it was pretty, pretty damn amazing. We still do,” he said, reflecting on the surreal experience. “I still walk down the street and shake my head thinking: ‘I can’t believe that happened.’”
When asked if their daughters were aware of the tribute before the song’s release, Reynolds playfully revealed that they were kept in the dark and were surprised after the track came out. “We surprised them with it. Yeah. They didn’t know,” he joked, adding, “They had no idea. We don’t tell them anything. We find they’re most compliant if you offer them no access to outside information.”
In the same interview, the 44-year-old actor shared his aspirations for his children, hoping they grow up to be “self-aware human beings who affect some positive change somehow, some way in the world.” Swift herself confirmed the inspiration behind the song during a radio interview in August 2020, saying, “I named all the characters in this story after my friends’ kids… and I hope you like it!”
