Taylor Swift Praises Dakota Johnson In Heartfelt TIME Essay: ‘Refreshing Honesty’

Taylor Swift is celebrating Dakota Johnson’s latest accolade with rare insight into their friendship. The pop star penned an essay for Johnson in TIME after the actress was named one of the publication’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026. “Nearly 20 years into her fascinatingly varied and eclectic career, everyone is still getting to know Dakota. And it seems the more they learn, the more there is to fall in love with. In recent years, as she’s promoted her films, the name Dakota Johnson has become synonymous with refreshing honesty in a world of media-trained answers,” the singer wrote, adding, “Maybe it’s her sing-song vocal delivery, serenely answering questions with such frank candor it makes you feel like maybe this girl just … can’t lie?!” Swift went on to highlight more of Johnson’s characteristics, as she vouched for her “realness” and called her “one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever known.” The Grammy winner continued to praise Johnson, detailing how she’s inquisitive and makes bold choices. “She can’t stop challenging herself, taking newer and bolder risks like building her production company TeaTime Pictures. She can’t stop exploring the most intricate relationship complexities like in last year’s Splitsville and Materialists. Captivating in front of the screen and inquisitive behind it, her unfailing truthfulness helps to shape her ever evolving storytelling into art that feels as real and timeless as she is,” she wrote in part, adding, “She comes by it honestly.”