Did Taylor Swift just clap back at Trump’s diss? Fans spot Reputation-era Easter egg in powerful rebellion scene

Taylor Swift teases Reputation era in The Handmaid’s Tale

Back in 2023, the 14-time Grammy winner surprised fans by dropping a re-recorded version of her Reputation song “Look What You Made Me Do” (aka LWYMMD). That version didn’t get a big, flashy release like most of her tracks, instead, it made a quiet entry on a Prime Video show called Wilderness. Fans at the time took it as a low-key sign that the wait for Rep (TV) was over and a new album was in the works. But the singer then released The Tortured Poets Department, leaving Reputation plans hanging in the balance. On May 19, however, that same song showed up again, this time in a major scene in The Handmaid’s Tale. Combined with Jack Antonoff’s tune, synchronised drum beats, and new vocals, it also samples Right Said Fred. Fans think this might be Taylor dropping yet another hint that Reputation (TV) is coming soon. But for some, the timing and the message felt bigger than just an album release.

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Just a few days ago, Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social that he thinks Taylor is “no longer hot,” and even claimed he’s the reason she’s not as popular anymore. Last year, President Trump said he “hates” Swift after the singer endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for the presidential position, and in her long note, even took an aim at Trump’s then-running mate JD Vance, signing off the endorsement with the cat lady remark. Fans have been trending Taylor’s response to Trump for days, and when her song popped up in this specific episode, one where the women rise up, Swifties saw it as Taylor’s subtle but powerful response to Trump. One fan wrote, “Taylor used her own voice to fight back, without even saying a word.”

For the unversed, Taylor started re-recording her first six albums after Scooter Braun bought her song rights in 2019. She wasn’t given the chance to buy them back.  That’s why she’s been dropping these new “Taylor’s Version” albums in bits. Elisabeth Moss, who stars in the Emmy-winning Handmaid’s Tale, told Billboard that the collaboration with Swift was long pending. In a statement, she said, “I’ve been wanting to use a Taylor song for many years on the show, and 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.” Calling herself a Swiftie and someone who is very inspired by Swift, she said, “As a Swiftie myself, and I think I can speak for [co-star] Yvonne [Strahovski] and our entire cast as well, who are all Swifties, it’s such an honor to be able to use her music in the final episodes of our show.” The show is about a dark future where women have lost all rights and are forced to just push as many kids as they can. 

“In trying many songs for this specific moment in our series and knowing how much Lizzie wanted a strong female voice and message, Taylor was really the artist that delivered both lyrically and tonally,” the editor Hallam Martin explained, why they only preferred Swift’s songs adding, “Our badass main character June in this scene, really was saying ‘look what you made me do’ and the song couldn’t have been more on point.”