If you’ve not watched Taylor Swift’s ‘revenge’ video, “Look What You Made Me Do”, you should. There are stabs made at her haters left, right and centre! Here’s the low-down…
1. Katy Perry
Swift channels rival Katy Perry here with the bleach blonde hair and wild leotard/cheetah motif, perhaps a nod to the tiger imagery Perry associates herself to. She also throws extra shade at the singer by posing with a Grammy—Katy Perry has never won a Grammy while Taylor has 10.
2. The "Manufactured" Squad
Swift pokes fun at and acknowledges those critical of her ‘model’ squad and the fact that they all look similar and perfect (the NY Post, for example, ran an article in 2015 calling it a cult).
3. Swift Taking Her Music Off Streaming Companies
The scene where Swift, in her "streaming co." headquarters, where she's breaking in to get some of their money, alludes to her decision to remove her music from streaming companies because they weren't giving her and other musicians enough royalties.
Swift wrote an open letter to Apple in 2015 because of their refusal to pay new artists royalties during their three-month trial period. "I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company," she wrote at the time. Apple promptly reversed their policy.
4. Taylor's New Junior Jewels Shirt
This is from 2009's "You Belong With Me" video—but the names have changed to those of her squad members. Selena [Gomez], Blake [Lively] & Ryan [Reynolds], Lena [Dunham], and more are on it.
5. The Burying Of 2014 MET Gala Taylor
The ‘old’ Taylor Swift that laid buried is the Swift from the 2014 MET Gala, with "Out of the Woods" Swift—the last Swift seen in her 1989 era—digging the grave.
6. Kendall Jenner Sipping Tea
After Kim Kardashian posted her Snapchats of Taylor Swift and Kanye West discussing "Famous" last year, Jenner posted a "tea time" Instagram shortly after, which was widely perceived to be a jab at Swift. Swift here does her own take of Jenner sipping actual tea with her legs crossed in a similar dress (and with Jenner's sleek straight hair).
7. 2009 VMA Swift
This is Swift during her ultimate ‘victim’, feud-starting moment, when Kanye West cut her off during her MTV VMA acceptance speech in 2009. What she says while wearing this outfit is as significant as the outfit itself though: "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one I never asked to be a part of". She wrote the quote in 2016 after Kim Kardashian released her Snapchat receipts of Swift and West's conversation about "Famous".
8. The $1 Taylor Swift Won In Her Sexual Assault Trial
Although "Look What You Made Me Do" was shot months ago, Swift must have known at the time she'd only seek $1 in her sexual assault case against a former radio DJ in Colorado. During the scene of her lying in a tub filled with jewels, that $1 the jury awarded is beside her—perhaps a symbol of just how much the victory meant to her.
As Swift's lawyer said during his opening statement at the trial, the dollar is meant to help people understand that "You can say no when someone puts their hand on you. Grabbing a woman's rear end is an assault, and it's always wrong. Any woman—rich, poor, famous, or not—is entitled to have that not happen."
9. The Calvin Harris-esque Hawaiian Shirt While Drilling Her Plane
The tropical print Swift's wearing may be a nod to her ex-boyfriend, who not only collaborated with Katy Perry (and wore similar fashion) in his "Feels" music video, but also to date has released two songs about her ("Ole" and "My Way").
The scene also sees tropical shirt Swift spray-painting “Reputation” on the plane—and it was her reputation that Harris helped take down last summer when he accused her team for leaking information about her helping to write his single, “This Is What You Came For”. "I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do," he tweeted. "I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it."
10. The I-Heart-TS Crop Top
Crop tops were Swift's signature 1989 style, hence the slight variation of top worn by the men in this video. But the "I Heart TS" Swift is a direct reference to the tank top Tom Hiddleston wore when he was dating Swift at her Fourth of July party in 2016. Hiddleston became a punchline because of it.
11. The Eight Backup Boy Dancers
Fans point out that this was meant to illustrate Swift's eight high-profile relationships during her years in the spotlight: Tom Hiddleston, Calvin Harris, Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner, Harry Styles, Conor Kennedy, Jake Gyllenhaal, and John Mayer. They are all wearing "I Heart TS" tops.
12. The Nils Sjöberg Tombstone
Nils Sjöberg was the pseudonym Swift initially used on her and Harris's "This Is What You Came For". Eventually, media outlets broke the news that Swift co-wrote the song, which led to Harris confirming it on Twitter. "Amazing lyric writer and she smashed it as usual," Harris tweeted. "Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though."
13. The Kim Kardashian-esque Selfie Taking
During the last segment of her video, when she announces to the horrified old Taylors about "Getting receipts! I'm gonna edit this later," she is seen obnoxiously taking selfies, a signature move of Kim Kardashian’s, who literally did post those Taylor Swift receipts onto Snapchat.
14. The Mountain Of Old Taylor Swifts
All the old Taylor Swifts clamouring to reach the new one come from all eras. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" Swift is visible, goth Taylor Swift (the one who accepted the Taylor Swift award) is visible, Red tour Swift is there, "You Belong With Me" Taylor Swift is there, etc.
Source: Cosmopolitan