Taylor Swift's Epic 'Look What You Made Me Do' Music Video, Decoded!
"I would like to very much be excluded from this narrative."
Those are the last words Taylor Swift croons at the end of her epic new music video for "Look What You Made Me Do," which she premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. She's of course playing homage to her famous feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian -- and making it very clear the "old Taylor" is "dead."
From crawling in the dirt to bathing in a bathtub, ET's breaking down all the memorable moments from Swift's music video… and what they mean.
WATCH: Taylor Swift's 'Look What You Made Me Do' Is Already Breaking Records
1. R.I.P. old Taylor
The video begins with a shot of Swift's gravestone, which reads, "Here lies Taylor Swift's reputation." We then see a zombiefied version of the pop star, escaping her grave.
Reputation is the name of her upcoming sixth album, which drops Nov. 10.
2. Snake queen
Fans have famously flooded Swift's social media accounts in the past, leaving a slew of snake emojis in the comment sections of her posts. Call her a snake, she'll happily sit on a throne of them! Wearing a bright red wrap dress with snake jewelry, Swift goes extra savage in this scene -- sipping on tea that’s poured from one of her slithery creatures.
There's also a carving that reads "et tu brute," which translates to, "Even you, Brutus?" It's from the William Shakespeare play Julius Caesar when Julius gets stabbed to death by his friend.
3. Dazzling in diamonds
Swift appears to bash Kardashian multiple times during the video, the most noticeable being when she's lying in a tub of diamonds, seemingly referencing the reality star's robbery in Paris last year. Following the traumatic experience, the normally-flashy Kardashian revealed she was going to tone down her accessories.
4. Cats, tigers, GRAMMYS, oh my!
Around the 1:07 mark, Swift appears to be taking a dig at her frenemy -- the VMA host, Katy Perry. Swift dresses up very similar to Perry, wearing a cheetah-print jacket, sunglasses and a blond wig, as she gets into a car crash, a moment that looks very close to the accident in Perry's "Unconditionally" music video. Oh, and see that GRAMMY she's holding? Well, she has 10 accolades, Perry has zero. OUCH!
Flash forward to 1:85, and it seems even clearer. Swift is in a vault, robbing a bank and wearing a sweatshirt that features a glittery tiger, along with a cat mask, seemingly mocking the name of Perry's fanbase, KatyCats.
5. I <3 T.S.
Another scene features Swift busting out some choreography with a squad of backup dancers wearing "I <3 T.S." crop tops, clearly a nod to her ex, Tom Hiddleston. As many of her fans may recall, the Thor: Ragnarok star wore a similar shirt to Swift's Fourth of July bash in 2016 when the two were still dating.
6. She's not afraid to make fun of herself.
In addition to making fun of her "Bad Blood" music video and her infamous "squad" of models starting at the 1:50 mark and again at 2:37 (look closely -- you can see the name of her squad members on her T-shirt!) , Swift takes it to a whole new level when she stands atop a pile of iconic past versions of herself.
We see this again at the end of the video when 15 different versions of Swift stand in front of an airplane that has the word "Reputation" painted on it.
It's clear she's burying her old music videos, including "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," 'Wildest Dreams," and "You Belong With Me," and saying goodbye, forever, to "playing the victim," that "annoying" surprise face and "fake" personality.
Watch the full video HERE.
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