Is John Mayer at the 2016 Emmy Awards? Are he and Tom Hiddleston trolling Taylor Swift?

Culture

Emmy viewers are wondering: Is that John Mayer just jamming and jamming away under the stage at the 2016 awards ceremony? If so: Why?

As to the first question, the answer is: You bet your butt it is. And to the second — no verified explanation is currently available, but media types and internet laypeople have some thoughts.

The prevailing (joke) theory is this: The Emmys are trolling Taylor Swift.

After Swift's most recent ex, Tom Hiddleston, finished presenting the award for best director and exited the Emmys' stage, the camera panned directly to Mayer, blissfully shredding his face off with the rest of the band.

For those not versed in Swift's romantic history, Mayer played the role of boyfriend from December 2009 to February 2010, according to Billboard. The relationship does not appear to have ended on a friendly note, sparking a back-and-forth shade war waged in song.

Hiddleston, meanwhile, recently wrapped up a whirlwind romance with Swift that followed very close on the heels of her breakup with longterm boyfriend Calvin Harris. Hiddleswift announced itself with a suspiciously well-publicized make-out session on a Rhode Island waterfront in mid-June, continuing on a kissing world tour until their work schedules, revealing cracks in a hastily built foundation, maybe drove them apart — the pair split in early September.

While Hiddleston maintained the relationship was "authentic," many spectators maintained that their public displays of affection were too public to be believed, looking perhaps a bit staged, as if the couple was trolling us all.

Whether they were filming a music video or legitimately dating, one thing seems clear: The trolling tables have turned.

Well played, Emmys. Well played.