A Guide to All the Easter Eggs in Taylor Swift’s New “Anti-Hero” Music Video
Calling all Swifties: Taylor Swift released a new music video for her song “Anti-Hero.” In true Swift fashion, it is full of easter eggs.
Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights, was released on October 21. The music video for her third track, “Anti-Hero,” was released the same night.
“Anti-Hero” was a highly anticipated track from Midnights. Swift delved into the song’s meaning in her TikTok series, “Midnights Mayhem with Me,” which aired ahead of the album release. “Anti-Hero” details the musician’s insecurities and intrusive thoughts. On Instagram, Swift stated the track was her favorite song on the album. She explains “This song really is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves. So yeah, I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.
The five-minute video is full of references to the singer’s past songs and potential future projects. There is two identical Taylor Swifts featured side by side. One of them is the normal decent Swift, with a sleeve polo sweater and long pants. This Swift is calm and relaxed, but not without her self-doubts. The other Taylor Swift, also known as the “anti-hero,” embodies the singer’s intrusive thoughts. She is edgier, wearing glittery orange mini shorts and Prada Python boots. She is much more chaotic and abrasive compared to the chill Taylor Swift.
In the first scene, a room full of ghosts accompanies the lyrics, “all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room.” One ghost wears cat ears, and another wears heart-shaped sunglasses, both reminiscent of the “22” music video.
In the first minute of the video, Swift and her doppelgänger are holding guitars identical to the one she used on the Speak Now Tour. The chaotic Taylor Swift smashes the guitar while the other Swift uses the instrument calmly in her living room.
The next scene features a dining room set with friends having a dinner party. During the lyrics “too big to hang out,” a giant Taylor crawls into the room. This scene alludes to Alice in Wonderland, which is a possible reference to Swift’s track, “Wonderland.” Giant Taylor Swift is shot by an arrow in the next scene, referencing her song, “The Archer.”
More revelations are made as both Taylors enter a bathroom together. On the bathroom wall, there is a portrait of Swift’s grandmother, Marjorie, an obvious homage to her song of the same name. Swift then stands on a scale that reads “fat,” and moves to the kitchen to take shots with the anti-hero. The two scenes are possible allusions to the lines “I hosted parties and starved my body” from another Midnights song, “You’re On Your Own, Kid.”
The funeral section of the video is filled with the most easter eggs. First, Swift’s hypothetical children read her will at her funeral. The lyrics, “I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money/ She thinks I left them in the will/ The family gathers ’round and reads it,” play before the music pauses while they read her will. Each of her children is given 13 cents (Taylor Swift’s favorite number), while her assets and property go to her cats.
Lastly, Kimber, her hypothetical daughter-in-law, wears the same dress Taylor Swift wore on the Fearless Tour in 2009. None of these easter eggs have gone unnoticed by true swifties, who have been investigating the video since its release.
🧵🪡The easter eggs I found in the Anti-Hero music video a thread🪡🧵 pic.twitter.com/bzjEu1NoYK
— sam 🕰KARMA IS A CAT (@the13lakes_sam) October 22, 2022
Midnights is available to stream on all major music platforms. To spot all of Taylor Swift’s easter eggs, fans can watch the “Anti-Hero” video down below.
