Taylor Swift dropped her latest album, Midnights, on Oct. 21 (with seven surprise songs, mind you), along with a music video for her song “Anti-Hero” that Swift herself wrote and directed. There is so much going on in this video — like Mike Birbiglia and John Early playing her future sons, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis playing her future daughter-in-law — but the biggest question for me, at least, was who was playing the ghosts haunting her house.
The video starts with Swift sitting at her dining room table alone, eating eggs that ooze purple glitter (yes, really). After she cuts into her egg, she looks up and a “ghost” wearing a bed sheet, cowboy hat, sunglasses, and gloves is staring back at her, waving. Obviously terrified, she runs away as more ghosts pop up all around her house — in the hallway, sitting at the table, chilling on the couch with a glass of (what I think is) whisky. These ghosts basically look the same, though their bedsheets are different and they each have some ~telling~ accessories. (One’s wearing flowery sunglasses and some very familiar cat ears, and another’s got a pair of very familiar heart sunglasses on with a crown of greenery on their head.)
One of the first questions I had when I watched the video (besides why are those eggs oozing purple glitter?) was who the ghosts were. All Swifties know she loves to surprise her fans with Easter eggs, but the answer wasn’t given in her video.
After the premiere of the MV, Swift posted a few behind-the-scenes photo on Instagram. She wrote, “The Anti-Hero video is HERE, which I wrote and directed. Watch my nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts play out in real time, with some help from the excellent @birbigs, @bejohnce, and @maryelizabethellis who fabulously portray… get ready for it… my grown sons and daughter in law? Anyway. Forever grateful to my incredible DP @the_rinayang and our amazing crew. 🌌🤩.”
The first photo in Swift’s IG post is one of her sitting on the couch with the ghost that we see drinking whisky, looking at an iPad. But she doesn’t tag anyone, and she doesn’t mention who played the ghosts in her IG caption. Hmmm.
It’s possible Swift had some of her crew members and other stars from the video double-up on their roles and play the ghosts. But people on Twitter had some ideas of who may be underneath those flowery sheets.
In all honesty, fans won’t know who the ghosts were until Swift tells us. She doesn’t include any credits for the ghosts at the end of the video or in the video’s description on YouTube, and despite people asking her on Twitter and Instagram, she’s yet to address it. My fingers are crossed for Blake and Ryan, though.