Taylor Swift Reveals When She Gets Weirded Out by Fans

We all know Taylor Swift adores her fans ... but she did admit when she feels a bit weirded out by them ... when they act like her songs are paternity tests!

The pop superstar shared the tidbit during an interview with The New York Times, published Tuesday, about her songwriting. During the discussion, she addressed the "corners" of her fanbase who "take things to a really extreme place" as they try to assign her songs to a real-life person.

She explained ... "When it gets a little bit weird for me is when people act like it's sort of a paternity test, like, 'This song's about that person.' Because I'm like, 'That dude didn't write the song, I did.'"

But, she said she understands that's just part of the game and that's why she holds her relationship and perception of her art so close to her.

As you know, a long-running criticism is that Taylor writes about the people she dates ... and fans get their virtual pitchforks out against those men if they feel they've done her wrong. Fans have assigned "Dear John" to John Mayer, "All Too Well" to Jake Gyllenhaal, "Style" to Harry Styles -- and so on -- all without official confirmation from Tay herself.

But, the "Elizabeth Taylor" singer said, while she doesn't drown herself in online hate comments, criticism fuels her and has been the fire behind hits such as "Blank Space" and "Anti-Hero."