Taylor Swift is reclaiming her music rights while leading a rebellion as Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version) debuts in The Handmaid’s Tale.

There has been a sneak peak into the highly anticipated album, Reputation (Taylor’s Version), plays during the opening scenes of season 6, episode 9 of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. The episode starts with June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) leading an uprising against the Commanders, as the song plays out almost in full. There is no better way for this song to have been debuted, as the women walk forward in formation with explosions going off in the background. It’s hard not to make links back to that of Taylor’s original music video, where similar imagery takes place. 

Taylor Swift’s voice has grown since the original release, and so has our understanding of politics and the world around us. Particularly as women. This new release comes as world leaders are stripping women of their rights, and events are becoming eerily similar to that of The Handmaid’s Tale. Most recently, in relation to Swift is how President Trump has tweeted that she is no longer “hot” since he publicly claimed to hate her. Despite her being the most famous woman in the world and selling the highest grossing tour in history.

The original Reputation focuses on the way Taylor Swift was viewed and treated by the media. Being released almost 8 years ago now, it’s difficult to accept that women, and Taylor in particular, are still facing the same challenges even now. Debuting a sneak peak of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) on The Handmaid’s Tale is no accident and shows us that Taylor is shifting the focus off of herself. She, instead, is alerting us to the culture that’s growing behind closed doors. Giving us the song in this way is definitely keeping fans guessing for how the revamped version will sound, along with what the visuals will clue to us. 

The Handmaid’s Tale editor, Wendy Hallam Martin, told Billboard that she needed a strong female voice and message. And that “Taylor was really the artist that delivered both lyrically and tonally” in keeping with the scene and its significance. Elisabeth Moss also stated to Billboard that they had been waiting to use a Taylor Swift song in the show for many years, claiming that the majority of the cast and crew are huge Swifities, and regard her as an inspiration. She stated:

We finally found the perfect spot for a track from her, and I’m so glad we waited because there could not be a more perfect song for a more perfect moment.

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Image source of featured image.