Fans Are Emotional Over Joe Jonas Singing “Hesitate” Amid Sophie Turner Divorce

The Jonas Brothers’ marriages have led to some swoony lyrics over the years, so it was never going to be easy for fans to hear their love songs after Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner confirmed they’re divorcing. Certain songs, however, are proving to be especially affecting for their stans, and “Hesitate” is at the top of that list. Amid their breakup, the romantic track — and Jonas’ possible lyric change — is bringing up a lot of emotions for fans.

When the Jonas Brothers were preparing to release their album Happiness Begins in June 2019, Nick told Billboard that “Hesitate” was his middle brother’s love letter to Turner. Jonas later explained more about it in the album’s Editor’s Notes, saying, “I wrote it for my significant other, Sophie, and it’s one of those love letters you write to your partner saying, ‘I’ll be there no matter what.’”

That message, of course, hits differently since he filed for divorce on Sept. 5. Fans thought Jonas might be acknowledging this when he performed “Hesitate” and seemed to make a small lyric change in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sept. 6. As TikTok user @devotedly.yours showed in a viral post, Jonas seemed to take the line “Don’t be scared ’cause I’m on your side” and replaced “your” with “her.” Fans began to debate the line and whether it had any special meaning on both TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

Other fans were surprised to learn that Jonas is still singing “Hesitate” at a time when his emotions are presumably still very raw. A number of his supporters encouraged the Jonas Brothers to remove the Turner-inspired song from their tour’s set list, while others called him brave for still performing it. “i’ll be so honest if i was joe jonas hesitate would he coming straight off my set list because why does he torture himself with that song every single night,” one fan tweeted.

Others argued that Jonas should no longer perform “Hesitate” for a very different reason: They themselves feel too hurt and angry to want to hear it anymore. As one put it, “jonas brothers better take hesitate off the set list joe does not deserve to sing that song anymore.”

In general, the combination of the song and the divorce is hitting a lot of Jonas and Turner’s stans hard during this time. Numerous hearts have been breaking during “Hesitate” in the wake of the couple’s breakup. “I was trying to avoid videos of Joe performing last night but I just caved and watched him singing Hesitate and Walls and now I’m a blubbering mess,” one fan tweeted. “The hurt he must be feeling and still delivering these songs so flawlessly.... it breaks my heart wow.”