James is at the center of Taylor Swift’s Folklore love triangle.
The fictional storyline links “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” James is Betty’s boyfriend, but he becomes involved in a summer relationship with the unnamed female narrator of “august.” The three songs revisit the same situation from different viewpoints, making James the connecting figure between the two girls.
His name is stated most directly in “betty,” where he reflects on cheating and tries to explain himself. Betty is the titular character of that song and the person James has hurt. The narrator of “august” is never named, so “August” is not a character name. Inez, meanwhile, is a separate named figure associated with gossip in the storyline.
Swift described Folklore as involving fictional narratives and imagined story arcs. The trilogy therefore should not be treated as a coded account of a confirmed real-life relationship. Its appeal comes from the way one adolescent love triangle changes meaning when retold by three different narrators.