Innocent

"Innocent" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her third studio album, Speak Now (2010). Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, the song was written in response to Kanye West's interruption of her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, feeling the need to sympathize with him after the public outrage he received. A gentle pop ballad with tender vocals, its lyrics are about a protagonist's encouragement of someone who has committed wrongdoings, claiming them to hold innocence and believing that they could redeem themself. Following the album's release, the song peaked at numbers 27 and 53 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100 charts respectively. Music critics gave "Innocent" mixed reviews; some viewed the song as a sympathetic message and praised Swift's songwriting, but others criticized it as patronizing and condescending. Swift performed the song live at the following year's MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, a month prior to the release of Speak Now, as a means of putting the controversy behind her and West. The debate over the message started to affect Swift's public image as an innocent "America's Sweetheart", which resonated into 2016, when she and West got involved in another public feud after the rapper released the single "Famous". A re-recorded version, titled "Innocent (Taylor's Version)", was released as part of her third re-recorded album Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on July 7, 2023. Background and writing Taylor Swift wrote all tracks on her third studio album Speak Now (2010), by herself. According to Swift, the album is a collection of songs about the things she had wanted to say to the people she had met in real life but did not. In the liner notes for Speak Now, Swift explained that every song on the album is an "open letter" to someone in her life, "telling them what I meant to tell them in person". She also noted that one song in particular is addressed to "someone I forgive for what he said in front of the whole world". In press interviews leading up to the release of Speak Now, Swift said that the album track "Innocent" was dedicated to rapper Kanye West. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, during Swift's acceptance speech for winning Best Female Video, West interrupted her, protesting that Beyoncé had "one of the best videos of all time". Public opinion after the incident turned against West; former US president Barack Obama called him a "jackass".