Fashion
A Breakdown of Taylor Swift’s Many Easter Eggs in the ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ Music Video
On the heels of the release of Red (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift’s re-recording of her 2012 album, the pop star announced she had another surprise gift for the fans: a music video for the album’s new vault track, “I Bet You Think About Me,” featuring Chris Stapleton. Swift tapped her longtime close friend Blake Lively to direct the video and co-wrote the video’s story alongside her. In an Instagram teaser announcing the video, Swift wrote, “I finally got to work with the brilliant, brave, & wickedly funny @blakelively on her directorial debut. Join us as we raise a toast, and a little hell.”
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Swift released the video on Monday at 10 A.M. EST, which featured Swift crashing an ex’s wedding. The groom, played by Miles Teller, keeps spotting her in the venue and ultimately must confront the feelings he still has for her—and the future with her that he gave up. As for who the song is about, fans are once again pinning this Red track on actor Jake Gyllenhaal, as the “I Bet You Think About Me” lyrics reference an ex who’s more elite and hipster than Swift is, potential nods to Gyllenhaal’s character. Swift and Gyllenhaal dated for three months in 2010, and their emotional but short romance is believed to have inspired much of Red and its breakup tracks.
And above all, because this is a Taylor Swift music video, there are several Easter eggs hidden throughout. Let’s examine some of them, below:
The red present
Swift is seen giving the bride a red box with a bow, which seems to be the same one she teased in a Red (Taylor’s Version) countdown video back in October. The box also seemed to appear in All Too Well: The Short Film in a scene with actress Sadie Sink.
The red dress
YouTube
Swift’s red dress from the music video was also teased in that same countdown video. It begs the question: Did she film that entire countdown video on the set of the “I Bet You Think About Me” music video? If you look closely, you can see some of the accessories she wore and a red version of the wedding cake that appears in the music video:
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The red scarf
YouTube
In one scene in the video, Swift gives the bride a red scarf, a direct reference to the scarf mentioned in her song “All Too Well.” The same scarf was also shown in All Too Well: The Short Film and is known in the Swiftiverse as a symbol of her relationship with Gyllenhaal. As one fan pointed out on Twitter, could this wedding gift be Swift’s warning to the bride to stay away from the groom? Or, as another fan suggested, is this Swift signaling that she’s moved on from the relationship?
The red ring
YouTube
The video also shows Swift wearing her “Red” ring, the same one she’s wearing on the album cover for Red (Taylor’s Version):
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The ring is a nod to the “Love” ring that Swift reportedly wore while writing the original Red album; she eventually gifted a very similar one to pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
The other red ring
YouTube
Swift also wears a red heart ring in the video, which Lively happened to Instagram herself wearing just a few days ago:
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The cake
YouTube
As fans pointed out on Twitter, Swift loves to destroy a cake. She’s done it in the “Blank Space” music video and the “You Need to Calm Down” music video before repeating the gesture again in this one. But the wedding cake featured in “I Bet You Think About Me” has additional significance: The top tier features the numbers 13 (Swift’s favorite) and 26; the middle tier has both the “Red” ring design and the “Love” ring design; and the bottom tier features a set of birds that fans noticed look a lot like the birds Swift wore on her shirt on the 1989 album cover. A fan on Twitter also noted that Swift was 26 when 1989 came out—a potential clue to what album she’s releasing next—and that “I Bet You Think About Me” is the 26th song on Red (Taylor’s Version).
The “Starlight” reference
YouTube
The credits for the music video includes a line that reads: “And to all of our families who supported us as we dream impossible things,” which seems to be a reference to her Red song “Starlight,” which includes the lyrics: “He was tryna to skip rocks on the ocean saying to me / ‘Don’t you see the starlight, starlight / Don’t you dream impossible things’”
The top hat
YouTube
Fans on Twitter pointed out that the top hat Swift uses in the music video looks the same as the one she wore when she performed her Red song “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. For what it’s worth, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is also rumored to be about Gyllenhaal.
A family affair
YouTube
If you looked closely at the credits, you might have noticed that the bride was played by Teller’s real-life wife, Keleigh Teller. Swift’s brother, Austin Swift, was also credited as a producer on the video.
Aaron Dessner
YouTube
Dessner, who co-produced the song “I Bet You Think About Me” and has become one of Swift’s most important collaborators since they created her quarantine album folklore together, can be seen in the band at the end of the music video.
The kids’ table
YouTube
Fans are theorizing that the reason Swift is often seen among children in the music video’s fictional wedding is because her ex constantly treated her like a kid. In her song “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” also believed to be about Gyllenhaal, Swift sings: “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine / And that made me want to die”
The red sneakers
YouTube
At a pivotal point in the video, Swift walks away from Teller wearing a wedding dress and red sneakers. A fan on Twitter suggested this could be a reference to the Red song “Begin Again,” when Swift sings: “He didn’t like it when I wore high heels”
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