As we all might have noticed, Taylor Swift has been AWOL for, well, months now. After the release of 1989 and a very popular album tour, T-Swizzle disappeared from the public eye. Whether that’s due to her very public feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, or whether she’s taking a leaf out of her good friend Ed Sheeran’s book, Taylor Swift hasn’t made a peep since her Super Saturday performance at the Super Bowl. She hadn’t even been seen in public other than paparzzi photos of her entering the gym in January. Swift shocked fans by deleting all of her Instagram photos and most of her social media, leading us all to wonder, where in the world is Taylor Swift?
As one of Taylor’s biggest fans and constant critic, I’ve been a little concerned about her. She’s like my sister who I love dearly, but I’m constantly worried about what mistake she could accidentally make. Taylor is both a stalwart feminist and an occasional white feminist, a “classy woman” and a bit of a drama queen, and she is often the key example of my “problematic fave.” I’ve written a whole article about how to dress like the woman for Pete’s sake, but even I was ashamed when Kim Kardashian leaked footage of Taylor’s conversation with Kanye.
But then she broke her silence. She released several creepy snake videos and then a lyric video for her new single “Look What You Made Me Do.” I was shocked. I was surprised. I actually forgot that the video was being released and heard about it from my roommate the next morning. But still! I was shocked! We all were! Even those who have been commenting snake emojis for a year now were shocked. But here’s how I reacted to “LWYMMD” like a true Swiftie would- as Taylor Swift.
Stage One: Denial
She can’t be breaking her silence! I can’t believe this! Where has she been anyway? Who is this about? I can’t believe that she would publicly diss Kanye like this! This song can’t be about Kanye, can it? Is it about Calvin Harris? The old Taylor Swift can’t be dead, can she???
Stage 2: Anger
How dare Taylor kill the old Taylor! Who is the new Taylor? And what kind of a person goes missing for months and releases a spontaneous video? Is she trying to be Lorde or Gwen Stefani? Why does Taylor think it is appropriate to profit off of her many personal scandals? Is that just dangling a carrot in front of her listeners? Who does she think she is? What kind of person doesn’t release an album for three years and then hits us over the head with a single? And how dare she not release a new album until November!
Stage 3: Bargaining
What did I make you do Taylor? Tell me what to do and I will make it go away! Who hurt you? Who CHANGED you? What happened to make you roast yourself?
Stage 4: Depression
What are the implications of a song like this? Is Taylor leaning into the snake narrative just a creative way to dodge the blame applied to her scandals? Is Taylor attempting to appear “crazy” in order to sell records? How are we to respond to her standing on top of a pile of early Taylor clones? Is Taylor denying her culpability in her personal scandals? How are we supposed to respond to the possible appropriative implications of this video? Is this video just another glorification of premature death and unhealthy relationships? Is Taylor ever going to find a healthy and reciprocal relationship in which her and her partner love and respect each other? No one made her do anything?!?
Stage 5: Acceptance
Guess I’ll just bop along anyway. Or else she’ll be the actress starring in my bad dreams.