If you haven't heard that Taylor Swift dropped her new song "Look What You Made Me Do" then where have you been? If this is the case, go listen to it immediately. Not everyone is a fan of the song, but most should be in agreement that Taylor Swift is one of the smartest business women in the industry.
The "Look What You Made Me Do" music video is one of pure genius. Swift anticipated every insult she would receive and incorporated past criticism and put it all in the video. Not only has she done this, but she has not said a single word about the meaning behind any of it. It appears as though she truly no longer cared what anyone thinks of her and I am here for it.
So here are 13 references that you might've missed with one watch through of the song and explanations to some of the more prevalent ones.
1. The "Out of the Woods" Dress
The music video starts off with Taylor in her "Out of the Woods" dress. This is symbolic because the 1989 music video era ended with this video. Now the reputation era is starting off with the dead version of that Taylor. She never really made it out of the woods.
2. Nils Sjoberg
In the opening scenes of the video, there is a headstone with the name Nils Sjoberg. This is in reference to the pseudonym that Taylor wrote under when she co-wrote Calvin Harris' "This is What You Came For". When Taylor's team came out and said she had helped write it, Harris went on a Twitter rant attempting to verbally attack Taylor. Now that everyone knows that's her pseudonym she can no longer write under it. RIP Nils Sjoberg.
3. The One Dollar Bill in the Bathtub of Diamonds
You may notice that there is only one, one dollar bill in the bathtub of riches. This could be referencing Taylor's sexual assault trial, that she won. The person suing her was originally suing her for millions of dollars. He eventually dropped that and lost the case. Taylor countersued him for only one dollar to prove a point. She won the case and her dollar.
4. Et Tu Brute
The phrase "Et Tu Brute" is on pillars and the arms of the chair Taylor is sitting in. This line is uttered in Julius Caesar, as Caesar is being stabbed to death. It legitimately means "Even you Brutus?", but the phrase holds a more general connotation that expresses dismay or surprise when a friend betrays another. For Swift specifically, that could mean a number of things, such as the Katy Perry betrayal, the Kanye West/Kim Kardashian betrayal, or the Calvin Harris betrayal.
5. A Snake Pours Her Tea
I think this is just hilarious. Taylor has been called a snake because people feel as though she lied about the Kanye West phone conversation (in which it seemed as though she confirmed the line about her and Kanye still having sex). While that is what the video made it look like, she never okayed the line about him calling her a bitch or the music video where he literally created a fake naked replica of her sandwiched between him and Chris Brown. This scene is about his betrayal and she is the snake pouring her own tea because she knows what is real and what isn't.
6. A Crashed Maserati and a Grammy
There is a line in her song "Red" off of the Red album that directly correlates with this scene: "Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street". In this scene, Taylor crashes the Maserati and is holding a Grammy. This may be throwing shade at the fact that her Grammy nominated album, Red, did not win for Best Album of the Year.
7. Cats for Days
One of the many stereotypes that has been forced upon Taylor is that she is obsessed with her cats. So, of course, she references it by wearing cat masks in her video. The thing about this stereotype is that it isn't totally wrong. Taylor really does love Olivia and Meredith.
8. Money Hungry/ "Blind for Love"
Taylor has been said to be money hungry, so this scene is to play off that. Her sweatshirt also says "Blind to Love" to play off the idea that she just dates anyone due to her just wanting love and a man and not caring about who it is she's actually dating.
9. Stream Co.
This scene really hit me hard. In the back, the words Stream Co. are circulating around the room. This is in reference to how Taylor wouldn't allow her music on Spotify because of how low their royalty rate is. She also wasn't going to release her music on Apple Music, but after writing them a letter they decided to pay artists during customer's three-month free trial period, so she did. People thought she was money hungry for doing this, but really she was fighting for the smaller artists who are trying to make a living for themselves based on their music and need higher royalty rates.
10. Squad Goals
Many people have criticized Taylor's squad, saying that it is only made up of pretty, skinny models. They would say that her squad is exclusive and cliquey and that she controls all of her friends. This is playing off that thought. There are a bunch of models strewn on the ground after she has controlled their lives.
11. "I Heart TS"
During the chorus, all of her dancers are wearing "I Heart TS" shirts. This is in reference to how her ex-boyfriend, Tom Hiddleston, wore an "I Heart TS" shirt during her July 4th party. The media made fun of it and said that was more of a reason to think that, that relationship was a hoax.
12. Past Taylors
If you think this video was already insane, you're not even ready. The Taylor's reputation is at the top of a pile of past Taylors as they struggle to get to the top to reclaim their spot of being who she really is. This scene was actually crazy. Major props to Joseph Kahn, the director of this video.
13. 15 Taylors Throwing Shade Left and Right
This whole video has been leading up to this moment. 15 Taylors new and old are gathered together in a line throwing insults at one another. They're not just any insults though, they are the ones that have been constantly thrown at her the entirety of her career. These insults include, how she always makes the surprised face, how Kanye called her a bitch, how she always acts nice, but everyone thinks it's fake, how she always plays the victim, how she edits "receipts" so they fit her side of the story, and finally the VMA Taylor from 2009 says, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative", referencing the Kanye West phone call. At the end, all of the Taylors shout "SHUT UP" in unison and the video is over.
Taylor Swift is one of pure genius. Not only is she a great artist and songwriter, but over the years she has gained the self-awareness that has allowed her to grow into the artist she is today. This video broke the VEVO record for most views in 24, at 43.2 million views.
Welcome to the reputation era.
