From controversial statements about his love life to questionable musical choice, Mayer has pushed fans away about as often as he has won them over. Mayer has gone through intense scrutiny from the public and fans throughout most of his career. Like clockwork, the internet rightfully dredges up some kind of negative sentiment towards Mayer every couple of months — particularly when he teases new music or finds himself in the news for one reason or another. But where does this seemingly irreparable hatred for Mayer come from?
Here are 7 reasons people hate John Mayer.
1. Mayer made lewd comments about Jennifer Love Hewitt.
During a 2006 appearance at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood, Mayer took a low blow at his ex who he dated briefly in 2002 — and allegedly penned “Your Body Is A Wonderland” about. RELATED: 8 Strict Rules John Mayer Allegedly Makes His Girlfriends Follow When speaking at The Laugh Factory, the musician said that he never got to have sex with Hewitt because of a bout of food poisoning, brought on by some bad fish. Mayer wound up backtracking on the joke, telling Us Weekly, “It really was me making fun of myself”
2. Mayer also had some blunt comments about Jennifer Aniston.
The pair dated from 2008 to 2009, but the comments Mayer made about their relationship stuck long past they ended it. “I’ll always be sorry that it didn’t last,’ the singer announced at the time. ‘In some ways I wish I could be with her. But I can’t change the fact that I need to be 32”. “One of the most significant differences between us was that I was tweeting. There was a rumor that I had been dumped because I was tweeting too much. That wasn’t it, but that was a big difference”. He continued: “The brunt of her success came before TMZ and Twitter. I think she’s still hoping it goes back to 1998. She saw my involvement in technology as courting distraction.” In response to his rude comments, Aniston told Vogue that “‘He had to put that out there that he broke up with me”. “And especially because it’s me. It’s not just some girl he’s dating. I get it. We’re human”. “And it doesn’t take away from the fact that he is a wonderful guy,” she went on to explain. “We care about each other. It’s funny when you hit a place in a relationship and you both realize, we maybe need to do something else, but you still really, really love each other. It’s painful.” She continued: “There was no malicious intent. I deeply, deeply care about him; we talk, we adore one another. And that’s where it is”. RELATED: John Mayer Had The Perfect Response To A Taylor Swift Fan Who Sent Him Death Threats On Instagram
3. He threatened to sodomize an editor.
In 2009, Mayer was interviewed by Vulture’s Christianna Ablahad during a party for Giorgio Armani’s home label. When Ablahad suggested that President Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize was premature. Mayer replied, “I love you, you’re beautiful, but shut your f—ing mouth.” “You’re not building a journalistic career. You’re making yourself look like a moron and you’re not a moron,” he said. Later on, Mayer diverted his criticism toward Ablahad’s editor, saying, “I’m going to forcefully sodomize your editor.” RELATED: John Mayer’s 10 Most Controversial Comments Ever
4. He made several misogynistic comments in a 2010 Rolling Stone article.
While speaking to the publication, Mayer discussed what he looks for in a woman in the least flattering way possible. “Aren’t we talking about a matrix of a couple of different things here? Like, you need to have them be able to go toe-to-toe with you intellectually,” he said. “But don’t they also have to have a vagina you could pitch a tent on and just camp out on for, like, a weekend? Doesn’t that have to be there, too? The Joshua Tree of vaginas?” He went on to discuss exactly how he determines whether a woman is worthy of sleeping with. “I met a girl one time in Vegas, her name was Dimples, and the ‘S’ in Dimples was a dollar sign,” he said. “I have this weird feeling, a pride thing, for the people I’ve had relationships with. I still feel like I’m with them, in the sense that if I f—ed Dimples, what does that say about someone like Jen [Aniston]? I feel like it’s all connected. How could I ever cosmically relate these two people?” He continued: “What would I be saying to Jen, who I think is f—ing fantastic, if I said to her, ‘I don’t dislike you. In fact, I like you extremely well. But I have to back out of this because it doesn’t arc over the horizon. This is not where I see myself for the rest of my life, this is not my ideal destiny,’ and then I see myself f—ing Dimples? What does that say for my case?” RELATED: John Mayer Is Rumored To Be Dating 22-Year-Old ‘Mad Men’ Star Kiernan Shipka After They Were Spotted Out In LA
5. He used the n-word and spoke badly about Jessica Simpson in a Playboy interview.
The singer upset fans when he objectified his on-off girlfriend in 2010 interview, comparing her to an explosive. When asked about becoming a “tabloid fixture,” Mayer countered that his celebrity status was due to being addicted to Simpson. “It wasn’t as direct as me saying, ‘I now make the choice to bring the paparazzi into my life.’ I really said, ‘I now make the choice to sleep with Jessica Simpson.’ That was stronger than my desire to stay out of the paparazzi’s eye.” “That girl, for me, is a drug. And drugs aren’t good for you if you do lots of them. Yeah, that girl is like crack cocaine to me … Sexually it was crazy. That’s all I’ll say. It was like napalm, sexual napalm,” he said. Mayer also felt comfortable enough to show off his racism. “My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fuckin’ David Duke c-ck,” comparing himself to the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. “Someone asked me the other day, ‘What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” Mayer added. “And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a n—– pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass?” RELATED: 9 Strict Rules Taylor Swift Allegedly Makes Her Boyfriends Follow
6. He dated Taylor Swift when she was 19 and he was 32.
Swift’s fans have long criticized Mayer for dating the singer when she was barely legal, pointing out the obvious power imbalance in their brief fling. They have called each other out through the years, but their relationship began back in 2009, and by 2010 Swift had written her breakup anthem “Dear John”, which Mayer claimed had “humiliated” him. Over the years Swifties have called him out several times for speaking about Swift when she clearly wanted nothing to do with him. Even after they broke up, they were still linked together in the press. On her most recent album, her song “Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve” was rumored to be about Mayer and their relationship. RELATED: ‘All Too Well’ Lyric Change Tells Us How Taylor Swift Feels About Dating Jake Gyllenhaal & Their Age Gap
7. He was accused of cultural appropriation.
In 2017, Mayer faced backlash over the “Asian-inspired” music video of his song titled “Still Feel Like Your Man”. The video had a ridiculous amount of Asian stereotypes, which included geishas, dancing pandas, and samurai. Mayer himself called it “disco dojo.” He told USA Today that he “wasn’t anticipating any backlash,” showing fans his ignorance when it came to racial matters. “If I were anticipating backlash, I wouldn’t have made the video. Controversy does not inspire me. I wish I could say it did, but controversy does not inspire me,” said the singer. “I would never have made something anticipating backlash, I would’ve changed it so I didn’t anticipate the backlash.” RELATED: Taylor Swift’s Former Classmate Explains Why ‘Most People Hated Her’ During High School Taylor Haynes is a writer based in Chicago. She writes for Entertainment & News at YourTango. You can find her on Instagram here.
