celebrity

Leo shade and double standards: Just every hidden detail in Taylor Swift's The Man music video.

 

Today, Taylor Swift did more than just release a music video for her song The Man, a feminist bop pointing out the gross double standards in entertainment.

Instead of just… singing about what it would be like if she was a man, Taylor Swift sat in a prosthetics chair for hours and became a man.

She wrote and directed the video herself, in which she – you guessed it – lives life as a successful man with the three ms: Money, models and manspreading.

See for yourself:

And in true Taylor fashion, there’s a bunch of easter eggs and hidden details throughout the four minute vid, referencing everything from the battle to own her masters to a Serena Williams shoutout.

So we’ve pulled out our magnifying glasses and put on our trench coats for this very important investigation, and basically watched the video on a loop for 12 hours.

Here are the hidden details you may have missed and the meanings behind them all:

The Wolf of Wall Street parallel.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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The early scenes of 'The Man' at work mirror scenes from The Wolf of Wall Street, which makes sense since Leonardo DiCaprio is name checked in the lyrics of the song:

They'd say I hustled
Put in the work
They wouldn't shake their heads
And question how much of this I deserve
What I was wearing, if I was rude
Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves
And we would toast to me, oh, let the players play
I'd be just like Leo, in Saint-Tropez

The women in the office scene.

This woman's mug literally has the last line of the chorus on it.

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Image: YouTube.
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And these women... Well, they try to catch a crumbled up piece of paper thrown by 'The Man' as if it was a bouquet at a wedding.

taylor swift the man music video
Bouquet throwing... but make it the struggle of overcoming prejudice in a work environment. Image: YouTube.
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The train posters.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.

Okay, there's a lot to unpack in the train scene.

Firstly, shout out to the girl in the yellow Miss Americana hoodie.

But let's look closely at the advertisements...

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taylor swift the man music video
Go for it, man! You deserve it! Image: YouTube.

Then there's this one for a (fake) movie titled Man vs Disaster. The tag line is 'Mother Nature doesn't stand a chance' which is probably a jab at how highly society holds up men, but could also be commentary on climate change.

taylor swift the man music video
LOL. Image: YouTube.
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And this Bo$$ Scotch 'ad' is most likely a dig at Taylor's former manager Scott Borchetta, who sold the rights to her master recordings to Scooter Braun. The tag line 'Capitalise on the feeling' likely references that Borchetta capitalised from the sale of her back catalogue, all of which was written by Taylor, about her own life.

The graffiti next to it is also rather telling.

taylor swift the man music video
Peep that 'greedy' graffiti. Image: YouTube.
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The newspaper.

The headlines in 'The Man's' newspaper point out the difference in how men and women are portrayed in media.

"WHAT MAN WON THE YEAR IN CELEBRITY DATING?" is the front page story, celebrating something media have criticised Taylor for doing her entire career: Dating.

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Image: YouTube.
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Other headlines include "Year's Most Electable CEOs" and "MEN LOVE SPORTS".

The graffiti wall.

There is a whoooole lot of symbolism in this subway station wall.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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It's 13th Street Station, for starters - and 13 is Taylor's lucky number.

The graffiti words spell out Taylor's album names: Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation along with the word 'karma' next to a sign reading 'MISSING: If found return to Taylor Swift'. Again, this is an obvious reference to the sale of her masters.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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The other sign... Well, that's a 'No Scooters' sign and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out it's a reference to Scooter Braun, who purchased her back catalogue.

The 19 hands.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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In a Q&A, Taylor revealed there are 19 hands high fiving 'The Man' as he leaves his house each day. Fans reckon that's a nod to the 19th amendment to the United States constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

World's Greatest Dad.

taylor swift the man music video
Congrats on spending time with your child! Image: YouTube.
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This whole video is about double standards, so when The Man gets praised for doing the bare minimum with his child... We had to laugh.

The women's charity tennis match.

taylor swift the man music video
Men play for women's charity. Of course. Image: YouTube.

'The Man' is playing tennis for a women's charity, of course and has a 'mantrum' because he's not winning.

Fans think this is a reference to Serena William's loss in the 2018 US Open final, during which she was fined for shouting at the umpire. The incident caused a major debate about sexism.

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Scott Swift.

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Image: YouTube.
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Taylor's dad Scott plays the umpire being abused by 'The Man' during the tennis match.

Her next single.

Okay, this is subtle but it makes sense. Fans think Taylor hinted at her next single in the video, and they're very happy about it.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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The ball girl in the tennis scene is a TikTok star named Loren Grey. It's important to know her fans are called "angels".

So when Loren rolls her eyes... Well, that's a reference to the line 'Angels roll their eyes' in Taylor's song Cruel Summer, which absolutely anyone with taste has wanted to be a single since she released her album Lover last year. It's happening, people.

58 years later.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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When The Man gets married to a much, much, much younger woman the video says it's 58 years later.

5 + 8 = 13.

Mr Americana starring Tyler Swift.

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Image: YouTube.
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Taylor's documentary Miss Americana was released on Netflix in January after its debut at Sundance. In The Man video, a poster in the subway scene portrays: 'Mr Americana' starring Tyler Swift, which debuted at 'Mandance'. It's director is listed as Larry Wilson, instead of Miss Americana's Lana Wilson.

The director.

The Man walks off the tennis court towards the director... A.k.a Taylor Swift.

taylor swift the man music video
Image: YouTube.
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"Could you try to be sexier?" she says. "Maybe more likeable this time?"

"By the way, excellent work over there Loren, that was astonishing," she continues, turning towards the ball girl who just... rolled her eyes.

I think we mentioned this video was about double standards? Is it clear?

The man's voice.

When The Man finally speaks, the sound of his voice is that of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

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The credits.

And fin.