Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” touches on themes of love and loss, but also the scrutinizing pressure of immense fame.
Fans are theorizing that some of the 31 fresh tracks could be inspired by the 34-year-old's previous relationship with Joe Alwyn, rumored romance with Matty Healy and current partner Travis Kelce.
Some suspect think she has another target, too: Her own devoted fan base.
Following the surprise release of Swift’s double album, fans specifically pointed to songs like “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” “But Daddy I Love Him” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” for seemingly breaking the fourth wall to call out fans.
The intense puzzle-solving the album inspired isn't rare for Swifties, who have been trained search for Easter eggs in the singer's songs to figure out secret meaning and references to people in her life.
Since "Fearless", the pop mastermind has provided her fans with clues in spots like CD lyric booklets and music videos. Now, with the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, fans are taking sleuthing to a new level, posting theories and speculations about Swift's life.
For the first time, though, the clues are — at least partially — about them. Here's what to know.
Which of Taylor Swift's 'TTPD' songs seem to address fans?
There are a few examples of lyrics that appear to be about fans and fan culture.
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” showcases the pressure for Swift to deliver a stellar performance night after night amid personal turmoil.
She can put on a show even “with a broken heart," she sings, but the demand is endless: "All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, ‘More.’”
While "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" speaks to the pressure of being one of the biggest celebrities in the world, "But Daddy I Love Him" explores another aspect of Swift's public life: invasion of privacy.
Fans theorized the song was inspired by backlash to her rumored relationship with Matty Healy, The 1975 frontman who's been scrutinized for his own reputation.
Throughout the song, Swift appears to be fed up with constant critique from people who don't know her.
She sings, “I’ll tell you something right now/ I’d rather burn my whole life down / Than listen to one more second of all this b----in’ and moanin’/ I’ll tell you something about my good name / It’s mine alone to disgrace / I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing.”
The song's most vitriolic lines are directed at those judging her decision-making at large: “God save the most judgmental creeps / Who say they want what’s best for me / Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see.”
In one heavily shared line on social media, Swift also appears to poke fun at headlines as she sings, “I’m having his baby,” before pausing to address the likely reaction, adding, “No, I’m not, but you should see your faces.”
In “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” Swift seems to compare her initial years as a rising artist to her enormous fame today — and how it changed her. She sings, “I was tame, I was gentle ‘til the circus life made me mean / Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth / Who’s afraid of little old me?”
Swift likely addresses fans one last time when she sings, “‘Cause you lured me / And you hurt me / And you taught me / You caged me and then you called me crazy/ I am what I am ‘cause you trained me.”
What fans have to say
"The Tortured Poets Department" has inspired soul-searching among fans.
Magda Seiden, 29, posted a now viral TikTok video about her theory behind "The Tortured Poets Department." To Seiden, this was Swift's chance to give people "a glimpse into what’s been going on.’"
“I think it’s well deserved to come back at your fans,” Seiden tells TODAY.com in an interview. “I don’t think it’s every single fan. I think it was a loud minority of people who think that they know what’s best for Taylor and think that for whatever reason, they can act on her behalf.”
Seiden says that she received several remarks critical of Swift in her video's comments, who say something along the lines of, “This is how she built her career.”
Seiden says she finds this critique “important,” but believes Swift's signature Easter egg culture doesn’t work how it once did.
“Her fan base was so much smaller back then. It was pretty clear when she would make hints. No one really expected much out of them besides maybe feeling a deeper connection with the art,” Seiden says, adding that nowadays some fans seem obsessed with the artist's life more than the songs.
Fans have been reviewing and sharing videos from "Eras Tour" performances, “realizing (Swift) was really hurting and everyone else was having the time of their life," as Seiden put it.
TikTok user @carolines.version shared a video over the song “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” with the words atop a selfie clip of her looking around, “Anyone else feel kinda bad about going to the eras tour lol.”
She captioned the post, “Like are we feeling like we need to apologize what’s the vibe i feel so bad.”
Swift started the trend of calling out fans; now the Swifties are taking the baton. TikTok user @funky_yunky wrote that the album is a message directed at fans who bully people on social media in her defense and cross boundaries, all while demanding more from Swift.
The user captioned the post, "Please go touch grass."
