Either you love Taylor Swift or you love to hate her. Whichever it is, you have to at least admit that she’s a PR genius. The official music video for her latest single, Look What You Made Me Do, which she debuted at the recently-concluded MTV VMAs, is proof that she can mock herself and in the process still make money off of us—her fans and haters alike.
Truth is, her music video hasn’t even been up for a full week and yet she’s already managed to break a record (a.k.a. how much shade can one throw in less than five minutes). Because if you know Taylor at all, then you also know that she doesn’t simply do things just because. Her every move is calculated, including the looks she sported in her most controversial music video to date (it's basically a short fashion film, tbh!). Below, we give you a rundown of the different Taylors you’re bound to meet (and what type of #burn they’re meant to inflict on her enemies).
1. Zombie Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Out of the Woods
The music video’s opening scene features a zombie Taylor crawling out of her grave. People were quick to notice the gravestone that has the name “Nils Sioberg” on it, which was the pseudonym she used when she wrote her ex Calvin Harris’ single This Is What You Came For. However, what others weren’t able to point out right away was the fact that Taylor is wearing the same blue dress she wore in her Out of the Woods music video, possibly hinting that she did not make it out of the woods after all, which caused the death of the “old Taylor.” (Backstory: Taylor once revealed that her song Out of the Woods is about a much-publicized relationship and how too much spotlight makes it difficult to sustain it. “As soon as the world gets ahold of [the relationship], whether it’s your friends or people around town hear about it… it’s kind of like the first thing people want to do when they hear that people are in love is just kind of try to ruin it,” she said.)
2. Dead Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Moving on, let’s take a moment of silence to appreciate the fact that, before Taylor turned into a rotting corpse, she went to her grave wearing the same gown (and hairstyle) she wore to the 2014 Met Gala—a custom Oscar de la Renta, which she once referred to as “a daydream realized.”
3. Crazy Rich Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Blank Space
You might remember a quote from 2015 when Taylor revealed that her song Blank Space was inspired by how media paints her as a “psycho serial dater girl” who “[cries] in her marble bathtub surrounded by pearls.” Hence, we’re guessing it’s not a coincidence that her choice of hair, makeup, and even jewelry from this scene is so strikingly similar to her look in the aforementioned Blank Space music video.
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IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
P.S. In the tub, you can also find the controversial one-dollar bill randomly lying there amid her jewels. Fans speculate that this is in reference to her court case against former radio personality David Mueller, whom she countersued for $1 for sexual harassment and battery.
4. Viper Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Let’s state the obvious: There’s A LOT of snakes in this video, most especially in this part where we find Taylor in a red cutout dress. In this scene, the floor is flooded with hissing vipers, the singer’s also wearing several pieces of snake jewelry, and even her cup of tea is literally being served by one. Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this element is in reference to that time her Instagram account was spammed with snake emojis. In case you need a refresher course on the Taylor vs KimYe feud, this was right after Kim Kardashian released footage of that infamous phone call between Taylor and Kanye West, eventually giving birth to the #TaylorIsOverParty hashtag.
5. Celebrity Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Speaking of which, Tay Sway did not hold back at throwing shade at Kim. The same Taylor in the music video who drove “a new Maserati down a dead-end street” (these are lyrics from her Red album, in case you didn’t notice) made another appearance in the end. While taking #selfies with her phone (something Kim K is notoriously known for), she let out an all-too-familiar line about “getting receipts” and editing them later, which perhaps is also in reference to the above-mentioned videos that the reality star uploaded with the intention of “exposing” Taylor.
6. Thug Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Still in the subject of celebrity feuds, Taylor’s very public “catfight” with fellow cat lady Katy Perry may be the secret meaning behind this “robbing” scene, which was meant to not-so-subtly symbolize how Katy allegedly “stole” Taylor’s backup dancers. The cat masks do make this quite obvious.
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
At the same time, it can be argued that this is also about Taylor’s open letter to Apple Music in 2015—which makes sense because, if you look closer at the background, her neon-clad mob is apparently robbing a streaming company.
7. Squad Leader Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Here, Taylor is seen in command of an army of genetically flawless models, which is an obvious shade directed towards those who criticized her “squad” and joked that she employs a slew of robots at her beck and call.
8. Vixen Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Then again, there’s also this scene where Taylor walks into a room in her fishnet bodysuit and thigh-high boots, causing panic amongst the male dancers. They can all be seen wearing an “I Tom Hiddleston was photographed wearing (and was publicly crucified for) when they were still a couple. Note that there’s a total of eight guys here, possibly representing each high-profile boyfriend she’s had thus far: Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner, John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor Kennedy, Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, and Tom Hiddleston.
9. The New Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
Right before she literally made a public announcement about the death of the “old Taylor,” the new Taylor stood atop a mountain of bodies wearing a black fur sweater with the word “rep” emblazoned on it. If you pay enough attention, then you’d notice that the people below her are actually the “old Taylors.” They’re wearing some of the most iconic outfits that the 27-year-old singer has worn throughout her career, including her white swan look from Shake It Off, the cutout jumpsuit she wore to 2015 Billboard Music Awards, and a sequined costume from her Red tour, among many others.
10. Nerdy Taylor
IMAGE YouTube/TaylorSwiftVEVO - Look What You Made Me Do
The nerdy Taylor from You Belong With Me music video also made a comeback in the above-mentioned scene, but she deserves a special mention because this “old Taylor” did not simply make an appearance in her signature black-rimmed glasses. Her Junior Jewels white tee obviously got an upgrade—this time around, it comes with the names of her present squad members: Selena, Blake & Ryan, Todrick, Lena, Gigi, Martha, Ed, Danielle, Alana, etc.
In case you haven't seen her latest music video yet, we suggest you click on the play button below!
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