Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” Explained

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A deep dive into reputation’s fiery lead single

Co-authored by Maria Ceschan and Aly Rusciano

Last Updated: June 11, 2025 Fact Checked

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What is “Look What You Made Me Do” about?

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Lyric Breakdown

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Music Video Decoded

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Reception & Impact

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Making of the Song & Video

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Similar Songs

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Video

They say the world moves on, another day, another drama. But not us! We’re still stuck on Taylor Swift’s 2017 hit “Look What You Made Me Do.” The lead single off Swift’s sixth studio album reputation, “Look What You Made Me Do” was the catalyst of the reputation era. The song’s edgy sound and bold, loaded lyrics shocked the world, and we’re honestly still recovering. Plus, that music video? Iconic. But what did the song really mean? Join us on this deep dive to find out.

“Look What You Made Me Do” Song Overview

“Look What You Made Me Do” explores themes of betrayal and vengeance. The lyrics showcase a newly hardened Swift after a public feud with Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Kim Kardashian and her worldwide cancellation in 2016. The song highlights that Swift has only gotten stronger by those who’ve wronged her.

Section 1 of 6:

What is “Look What You Made Me Do” about?

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“Look What You Made Me Do” is about not letting people step all over you. With themes of betrayal and vengeance, “Look What You Made Me Do” is one of Taylor Swift’s most dramatic and transformative songs. The song is a direct result of the backlash she received in 2016 before she disappeared from the public eye, which started the reputation era. With “Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift returned to the spotlight with a newfound confidence and “don’t mess with me” attitude, stating: I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now / Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead.
- With this track, Swift says goodbye to her girl-next-door persona. She’s found her voice. She’s not afraid to set boundaries and burn bridges: I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined.
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“Look What You Made Me Do” was inspired by Swift’s feud with Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Kim Kardashian. In February 2016, Ye released his song “Famous,” which features the lyrics I made that b*tch famous (in reference to Swift). Many took the line to be incredibly misogynistic, and in her acceptance speech for Album of the Year for 1989, Swift indirectly responded by saying, “There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success…don’t let those people sidetrack you.”
- Six months later, Kim Kardashian (then married to Ye) released a video of a phone call between Ye and Swift, where Swift appears to acknowledge and approve of the song “Famous."
- However, Swift quickly defended herself and said she had never specifically been told about the lyric I made that b*tch famous. “Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination," she posted online.^{[1]
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- Swift’s response did little to stop people from turning on her and calling her a liar who was pretending to be a victim. The backlash led to her disappearing from the public eye in November 2016. This hiatus lasted until August 2017 with the release of “Look What You Made Me Do.”
- The lyrics from the song I don’t like your little games / Don’t like your tilted stage are thought to be a direct reference to Ye’s 2016 Saint Pablo tour, where he performed on a floating stage above the crowd.^{[2]
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Section 2 of 6:

“Look What You Made Me Do” Lyric Breakdown

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Opening with enchantingly eerie twinkles, “Look What You Made Me Do” begins with heated words: I don’t like your little games / Don’t like your tilted stage. Swift continues, alluding to the feud and how Ye and Kardashian tried to paint her as a liar: You said the gun was mine / Isn’t cool, no, I don’t like you.
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In the chorus, Swift describes a resurrection and transformation. Many people expected Swift to return apologetically after her hiatus, but she made it clear that wasn’t going to happen: But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time. Swift may have been pushed down, but she rose up from the dead. And with a catchy repetition of the song’s title phrase, Swift pointed the blame for her drastic transformation to those who’ve wronged her: Look what you made me do.
- Swift also sings that the unnamed “you” of the song (presumably Ye) is in a list of names, and theirs is in red, underlined. This could be a reference to Swift’s “Blank Space,” but it more likely refers to a fictional or metaphorical “hit list”—Swift wasn’t playing around anymore.
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In the second verse, Swift describes the sudden loss of a close friendship. The harsh echoes and throaty pitch of this verse depict a betrayal. The lyrics You asked me for a place to sleep / Locked me out and threw a feast allude to someone taking advantage of Swift. While Swift was hospitable, the other party was cruel and unforgiving. Swift continues: The world moves on, another day another drama, drama / But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma. While the media and public find new things to cover and scrutinize, Swift remains bitter. She knows eventually karma will come around and give everyone what they deserve.
- Some people speculate this verse may be about Katy Perry, who Swift had a falling out with during the 1989 era.
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In the bridge, Swift alludes to her disappearance and emergence back into the spotlight. The repetitive nature of the “Look What You Made Me Do” bridge mirrors an anxiety-ridden brain, one where you have to repeat something over and over to yourself to believe or recognize it’s true. The lyrics I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me refer to Swift’s time away from the limelight, highlighting feelings of uncertainty and possible fear. I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams alludes to having to “act” out a part or never being your true self. In Swift’s case, it paints the picture of her former self or “reputation” fizzling out.
- Arguably the most popular and iconic line of the song—I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now / Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead—directly states that Swift is no longer the “old Taylor,” or the version of herself whose niceness was taken advantage of.
- In a 2019 Rolling Stone interview, Swift disclosed that the phone call lyric in “Look What You Made Me Do” referred to a “stupid phone call [she] shouldn’t have picked up.”^{[3]
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  Research source} This is presumably the phone call she had with Ye in 2016 before the release of “Famous.”
- Some believe that the line about starring in your bad dreams is another diss at Ye, who featured a naked Taylor Swift sculpture in his “Famous” music video, showcasing them sleeping together.^{[4]
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  Research source} Swift may have included this line as a vindictive threat to haunt her enemies’ nightmares.

Section 3 of 6:

The “Look What You Made Me Do” Music Video

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The Gravestone The first Easter egg of Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” music video is in the opening scene. The camera flies over a dark graveyard. Crows caw in the background as the camera zooms in on a gravestone that reads “Here Lies Taylor Swift’s Reputation.” Moments later, a zombie Swift crawls out of the ground, emerging from the grave. This visualizes the song’s lyric I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now / Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead.^{[5]
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Research source} Swift’s reputation has been metaphorically killed.
- The dress Zombie Taylor wears is the same dress Swift wore in the “Out of the Woods” music video during her 1989 era. This is symbolic because “Out of the Woods” was the last music video for a personal album she produced before her hiatus.
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The Bathtub After the graveyard scene, Swift is shown in a bathtub of diamonds. With bright red lips, dark smoky eyes, and sharp red nails, Swift embodies the role of a wealthy woman. Diamonds decorate her neck and wrists, but it’s what’s in the bathtub that matters. On top of all the jewels lies a single dollar bill, referencing the lawsuit she won against David Mueller, whom Swift accused of touching her inappropriately at a meet-and-greet.^{[6]
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The Snakes Snakes are the main motif of the reputation era, thanks to Kim Kardashian tweeting snake emojis in an apparent dig at Swift at the height of their feud. In the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, Swift embraces being called a snake. The camera glides up an elegant staircase covered in slithering snakes to Swift, sitting on a golden throne. While Swift holds up a cup of tea, 12 snakes are seen around the throne, making Swift the 13th.
- Why is this significant? Thirteen is Swift’s lucky number!
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The Robbery One scene in the music video shows Swift in a bedazzled hoodie carrying a baseball bat and robbing a vault. As Swift and her entourage exit the vault, the words “Streaming Co.” scroll on a banner behind them.^{[7]
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Research source} This alludes to the time in 2014 when Swift pulled her music from streaming services (notably Spotify) and criticized the streaming companies for not paying artists.^{[8]
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In a flash of pink, a new scene starts that shows an army of female robots/mannequins. Swift is at the head of the army, wearing a pleather bustier and cape. She smacks a whip against her hand as the word “SQUAD U” and an image of a cat flicker on the large screens beside her. This scene refers to the criticism and accusations Swift received during the 1989 era for her “squad” of female friends and supposedly strategic friendships.^{[9]
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The Boys Swift is seen busting into a grand, elegant living room. The men lounging in the room immediately drop what they’re doing to attend to Swift. They’re lined up in a “V” formation behind the pop star wearing “I ♥️ TS” shirts. Notably, there are 8 men. Fans theorize this refers to the number of ex-high-profile relationships Swift had reportedly had at the time.^{[10]
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Taylor Mountain The most iconic and memorable scene of the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video is of a giant mountain of Taylors with reputation Taylor standing on top. Each Taylor represents a different era in Swift’s life, wearing iconic outfits associated with the time. This scene is a sea of Easter eggs, but here are the most notable:
- The names written on Junior Jewels Taylor from the Speak Now era have been updated to Swift’s closest friends in 2017, including Selena Gomez, Martha Hunt, and Este Haim.^{[11]
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- Speak Now Tour Taylor and Red Tour Taylor fight at the bottom of the pyramid.
- Fearless Taylor is seen flying off the mountain holding her signature bedazzled silver guitar.
- Swift used some of the actual costumes and outfits from her past for the music video!^{[12]
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The Taylors 15 Taylors are shown from different points of Swift’s life and the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video during the final scene. Fans have many theories on this, with the most popular being that each Taylor represents one of the 15 songs on reputation.^{[13]
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- Other fans speculate that the Taylors don’t represent songs but Swift’s past reputations. Each reputation or era is known, except for the Taylor standing on the wing of a plane in the background—could she represent a future era?
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The Ending The ending of the music video includes notable dialogue between all the Taylors. Swift’s script is genius, mixing criticism and backlash she’s received in the past with the different personalities she’s been perceived to have. Each Taylor is her own character, playing into the media’s idea that, with each era, Swift changes her personality. The most notable quotes include:^{[14]
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- “Stop making that surprise face. It’s so annoying.” - Zombie Taylor to Junior Jewels Taylor
- “Oh, stop acting like you’re all nice. You’re so fake.” - Red Tour Taylor to Fearless Taylor
- “Oh, there she goes. Playing the victim. Again.” - Biker Reputation Taylor in response to Fearless Taylor
- “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.” - 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Taylor
- These are only a handful of the theories and Easter eggs out there! Years later, fans continue to dissect the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, finding more hidden messages and meanings.

Section 4 of 6:

“Look What You Made Me Do Reception & Impact

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“Look What You Made Me Do” polarized critics when it was released. Some found the single an interesting and captivating angle for Swift’s return, while others found the song annoying, vindictive, or off-putting. Swift’s new sound and image also alarmed fans, with some accepting the transition with open arms and others breaking away from the fandom entirely. The mixed reaction only emphasized Swift’s position as a “cultural force,” as USA Today explained.^{[15]
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- Variety’s Chris Willman praised the song: “‘Look What You Made Me Do’ makes the superstar sound like a tougher chick than the tougher chick we were already getting to know, but there’s also the undeniable element of Swift being a girl who just wants to have fun…the fun, that is, of playing around with her own fury.”^{[16]
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- The Guardian’s Maura Johnston left a negative review: “Swift’s lyrics are visceral and almost sloppy.”^{[17]
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As of May 2025, “Look What You Made Me Do” has been streamed over 1.3 billion times, with daily streams in the 380,000 range.^{[18]
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Research source} While “Look What You Made Me Do” may not be one of Swift's most critically acclaimed songs, it’s definitely one of her most memorable and iconic.

Section 5 of 6:

The Making of “Look What You Made Me Do”

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Swift was inspired by Game of Thrones when writing “Look What You Made Me Do.” In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Swift disclosed that she binge-watched the hit drama Game of Thrones during her hiatus, and the show’s influence made its way into reputation: “So much of my imagination was spent on Game of Thrones. At the time, I was making reputation and I didn’t talk about it in interviews, so I didn’t reveal that a lot of the songs were influenced by the show.” Swift wanted to be more like the show, getting “cryptic with information and still be able to share messages with the fans.”^{[19]
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- So, what’s inspired by the show? Swift explained: “‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is literally Arya Stark’s kill list. ‘King of My Heart’ was influenced by Khal Drogo and Daenerys…‘I Did Something Bad’ I wrote after Arya and Sansa conspire to kill Littlefinger.”
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The “Look What You Made Me Do” music video was made using Swift lookalikes. The most iconic and well-known scene in the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video is arguably the “Taylor Mountain” scene. In this scene, Swift fights multiple versions of herself from her past eras. At the top of the mountain stands reputation Taylor. In a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the video, Swift exclaims, “This is the trippiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” when walking on set to see multiple versions of “herself” side-by-side.^{[20]
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- The behind-the-scenes video showcases Swift changing into multiple costumes and filming multiple shots alongside her lookalikes. The editors then used these differently angled shots to create a scene that makes it look like Swift is fighting and arguing with herself.
- For more behind-the-scenes footage, check out Swift’s official “Look What You Made Me Do: Behind-the-Scenes” playlist on YouTube.

Section 6 of 6:

Similar Taylor Swift Songs

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So, you like the edgy attitude and catchy sound of “Look What You Made Me Do,” huh? Well, if that’s the case, you’re going to love these similar Taylor Swift songs! These songs are just as gritty, dramatic, and catchy as this pop hit:
- “Bad Blood” from 1989: With similar accusations and attitude, “Bad Blood” embodies the drama of “Look What You Made Me Do.” Think of it like the song’s older sister.
- “Better than Revenge” from Speak Now: “Better than Revenge” is a younger Swift’s heated revenge song. Like “Look What You Made Me Do,” you’ll want to sing this song at the top of your lungs!
- “Blank Space” from 1989: Not only is “Blank Space” super catchy, but it also portrays one of Swift’s perceived reputations: a boy-crazy lover.
- “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” from The Tortured Poets Department: Chilling and theatrical, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is Swift’s latest dramatic hit that highlights reputation and image.
- “Should’ve Said No” from Taylor Swift: “Should’ve Said No” is the angsty country song that helped pave the path for Swift’s later revenge hits.