Tom Hiddleston Doesn't Want to Talk about Taylor Swift (But Since You Mention it)

The good people at GQ, who brought you the stories behind Justin Bieber's monkey and Kim Kardashian's snake, have delivered another blessing: Tom Hiddleston's tank top.

Ever since Taylor Swift plucked him up and popped him on the rocks as a beau, Tom has had a whole lot of kerfuffles with public opinion. Most memorably, he was photographed wearing an 'I <3 T.S' tank top. What the reason for that could possibly be, we never knew. Until now.

Before we jump into all that, I feel it's important to readdress the fact that Taylor Swift had tank tops with her initials made up for her friends. This was mostly overlooked, probably because #Hiddleswift had been happening for a hot two weeks. Sure, Tom wearing the tank was weird, but Hiddleston should never have shouldered all the blame.

But it's important to clarify that no excuse or fan-concocted theory for the sartorial display of public affection could possibly compete with Tom's explanation behind the tank as told to GQ's Taffy Brodesser-Akner.

"The truth is, it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back. And I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, 'Does anyone have a T-shirt?' And one of her friends said, 'I've got this.' " The friend pulled out the "I ♥ T.S." tank top that Taylor's friends are contractually obligated to own. "And we all laughed about it. It was a joke."

Right. But. When has keeping a graze out of the sun ever sped up the healing process? Why did the tank look it was a standard men's M/L, rather than for one of Swift's size 0 cohort? So many questions still remain, but, as Tom repeats to Brodesser-Akner "it was joke."

Re: Hiddleswift as a whole, which lasted a cool three months, Tom asserts, "Of course it was real."

"A relationship in the limelight… A relationship always takes work. A relationship in the limelight takes work. And it's not just the limelight. It's everything else." He wanted a regular relationship. So did she, he says she said. "So we decided to go out for dinner, we decided to travel."

The whole profile, which is really very excellent, seems like a vehicle to address Hiddleston's relationship with Taylor Swift, but not once does it feel like Brodesser-Akner is doing the driving. Tom is looking to regain his credibility by talking about the relationship he thinks took it away.

What we take away most Brodesser-Akner's time spent with Tom, is that he's exactly the guy you thought he was. Desperately over-compensating for some unknown insecurity, Tom is the type of dude that would corner you at a party to talk about "ideas.". Bright, yes. Talented, certainly. But forever trying too hard.

Head over to GQ to read the full piece.

Image via Billy Farrell/BFA.com