Taylor Swift does not do subtlety.
Three days after releasing her much-lampooned new single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” the global superstar unveiled her music video for the track early on at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.
And the footage took aim at the paparazzi, at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West… and even at herself.
The video opened with a gravestone that reads “Here Lies Taylor Swift’s Reputation.”
The last word there, of course, is the name of Swift’s upcoming studio album, which drops on November 10.
It’s also a reference to the way Swift has seen her name dragged through the mud for just over a year now, ever since Kim and Kanye exposed her as somewhat of a phony last summer.
(In July of 2016, Kardashian played a phone call to the world in which Swift gave her husband permission to include a negative lyric about Taylor in his song “Famous,” despite Swift having previously claimed foul when the track went viral.)
Swift then dances around a cemetery while dressed like a zombie, prior to miming the shooting of a gun in a bathtub, draped in diamond.
From there, we see Taylor sitting on a throne, drinking tea (clearly trolling the trolls) and ignoring the snakes slithering all around her.
(Reminder: Kardashian referred to Swift as a snake after igniting their aforementioned feud last year.)
Cut to Swift in a car accident, the paparazzi snapping photos all around here as she sort of writhes in pain… yet stares at a Grammy Award while doing so.
(Translation: Oh yeah? You think my career is a trainwreck and you want to throw a Taylor Swift is over party? I’ll just be over here, admiring my Grammys…)
Later on, Swift swings on a swing in a giant birdcage… joins some kind of motorcycle gang… swings a baseball bat in anger (undoubtedly creating more Beyhive backlash)… dons a dominatrix outfit… and dances around with guys in I Heart TS shirts.
(During July Fourth weekend in 2016, Swift and then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston received tons of crap when the latter was seen wearing a shirt with this same message on it.)
But the end of the video is when Swift truly comes clean. It’s where she lets EVERYthing out.
Various versions of the singer stand in front of a private jet with the word “REPUTATION” on it and engage in a conversation.
“Stop acting like you are all nice, you are so fake,” one Taylor says to another Taylor, referencing the biggest criticism most haters have of Swift.
We then see Swift very clearly mocking Kardashian as she sends out the infamous Snapchat video from last summer, with Swift uttering the line she wrote on Instagram in response to the scandal last year.
I’d very much like to be excluded from this narrative.
On the whole, there’s A LOT to unpack here.
Is Swift copying Beyonce at certain parts? Is she being too direct in responding to critics? Is she playing the annoying victim once again?
Or is this prime and perfect Taylor Swift in all her vindictive glory?
Watch the full video below and then respond!
