Taylor Swift has refused to say whether the references in Look What You Made Me Do are a parody or straight-up.
Taylor Swift has refused to say whether the references in Look What You Made Me Do are a parody or straight-up.
By Emily Yahr
Taylor Swift forgets nothing.
That's one lesson from her music video - which debuted on Sunday during the MTV VMA show - for her new single, Look What You Made Me Do. The fiery song, in which Swift declares her former self "dead", dropped on Friday, and quickly shattered streaming records.
Swift has not explained the meaning behind the tune (is it a parody? Is she very serious?) and according to Instagram, she has no plans to do so: "There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation," she wrote, name-checking the title of her sixth studio album, coming out in November.
So allow us - and the rest of the internet - to translate. Swift is aware that her reputation took a hit last year after well-publicised feuds with her ex-boyfriend DJ Calvin Harris and her nemeses, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, along with a much-mocked relationship with actor Tom Hiddleston.
This year, she withdrew from the spotlight. And it looks like she has been taking careful notes about every single insult hurled her way and is using her new video to respond.
Here are all of the criticisms she calls out in the video:
1 Her reputation
The video kicks off with this not-so-subtle visual gem, a tombstone that reads "Here lies Taylor Swift's reputation". Yeah, she knows what you've been saying about her.
Then, zombie Swift erupts from the ground. "I don't like your little games, don't like your tilted stage/The role you made me play of the fool, no, I don't like you," she sings - this may or may not be a reference to West's tilted stage on his latest tour.
2 "Nils Sjoberg"
In June 2016, Swift's ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris went on a tweetstorm that accused her of trying to "bury" him. Why was he so angry? Because Swift's team publicly confirmed that Swift wrote his hit This Is What You Came For, under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg. Swift made sure to throw "Nils Sjoberg" on a tombstone in the opening moments of the video.
3 The snake references
Last summer on Snapchat, Kardashian released a phone call recording of Swift and West discussing West's controversial song Famous, and the internet branded Swift a "snake" - because earlier, Swift implied she was caught off guard when she was mentioned in the track. So, Swift included snakes in her video.
Taylor Swift in her new music video.
4 Katy Perry
Katy Perry, who hosted the VMAs, spent a lot of time this summer discussing her years-long feud with Swift. It's a tired subject, so Swift didn't even bother to go there - except possibly with a shot of her in the video dressed as a Perry look-alike, holding a Grammy. Important note - Swift has 10 Grammys. Perry has zero.
5 That "I Heart TS" tank top
Last summer, Swift embarked on a much-photographed relationship with Tom Hiddleston. This included an incident where Hiddleston wore an "I Heart TS" tank top in the ocean and became a social media laughing stock. Of course, in the video, Swift's dancers rip off their jackets to reveal . . . well, the heart tank tops.
6 Her "surprise" face
Even back in her country music days, people made fun of Swift for looking shocked when she won awards ... because she won all the awards. In the video, she dresses up as several of her former music video characters. After the song finishes, more than a dozen Taylor clones get together and take a bow.
"You guys!" exclaims nerdy Taylor from the You Belong With Me video.
"Stop making that surprise face, it's so annoying," says zombie Taylor.
7 Swift isn't actually that nice
Though Swift rocketed to fame as the friendly, down-to-earth former country star, she knows that not everyone believes that.
"Y'all!" cries out sparkly-dress Taylor, with a 13 painted on her hand, just as she did during her Nashville days.
"Oh, stop acting like you're so nice, you are so fake," snaps ringleader Taylor, in a We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together performance costume.
Image posted to the Instagram account of Taylor Swift @taylorswife promoting the release of her new album Reputation. Photo / Supplied
8 Swift loves to play the victim
Again, a common criticism of Swift - and she knows it. When sparkly dress Taylor starts to cry, new Taylor rolls her eyes. "There she goes, playing the victim, again," she sighs.
9 Kim Kardashian
As the Taylor clones argue, one of them is dressed in a long, cheetah-print coat, obsessively snapping selfies. Obviously, Swift can't let this video go without a dig at Kardashian, who released the infamous Snapchat recording, or "receipts", as the internet dubbed them - a recording that was clearly edited.
"Getting receipts! Gonna edit this later," the Kardashian-Taylor clone says, not even bothering to veil that one.
10 Her famous phrase
When Swift fired back at Kardashian and West after the Snapchat recording last year, people immediately pounced on the phrase that she used in her statement: "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I never asked to be a part of." It even became a meme.
The final Taylor clone speaks up - it's Taylor dressed like she was at the 2009 VMAs, when West stole her spotlight and started their whole rocky relationship. "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative," Swift starts to say.
