Taylor Swift’s ’30 Rock’ Easter Egg in ‘Anti-Hero’ Isn’t Her First TV Reference
Taylor Swift’s new single “Anti-Hero” is full of fun Easter eggs, including a nod to Tina Fey’s hit comedy 30 Rock. Here’s a look at some of the other TV references Swift has made in her songs.
The Taylor Swift song ‘Anti-Hero’ references a line from ’30 Rock’
30 Rock was an NBC comedy starring Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracey Morgan, and Jane Krakowski. The Emmy Award-winning series centers on the cast and crew of a variety show filmed in New York City.
In Season 5, Episode 16, titled “TGS Hates Women,” Fey’s character Liz Lemon tries to talk to Abby Flynn (Cristin Millioti) about her child-like voice and sexy clothing. Liz suggests Abby drop her “Sexy Baby” act and embrace her true self. But she later discovers that Abby was pretending to be someone else to get away from an abusive ex.
Swift must have remembered that scene between Liz and Abby when writing “Anti-Hero.” She references the “Sexy Baby” line in the third verse.
“Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby,” Swift sings. “And I’m a monster on the hill. Too big to hang out. Slowly lurching toward your favorite city. Pierced through the heart but never killed.”
Taylor Swift’s ‘Reputation’ album features ‘Game of Thrones’ references
Swift is a master when it comes to sneaking clues and codes into song lyrics. And “Anti-Hero” isn’t the first song she’s slyly referenced a TV show in.
The Grammy winner’s 2017 album, Reputation, featured a song called “Look What You Made Me Do” about seeking revenge. In a chat with Entertainment Weekly, Swift revealed Game of Thrones influenced the track. In fact, her love for the series inspired much of the album.
“So much of my imagination was spent on Game of Thrones,” Swift said. “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.”
“These songs were half based on what I was going through, but seeing them through a Game of Thrones filter,” she added. “‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is literally Arya Stark’s kill list. ‘King of My Heart’ was influenced by Khal Drogo and Daenerys. It’s even got this post-hook of drums — I wanted them to sound like Dothraki drums — ‘I Did Something Bad’ I wrote after Arya and Sansa conspire to kill Littlefinger.”
Taylor Swift filled the ‘Anti-Hero’ music video with Easter eggs just for her fans
Fans are always on the lookout for easter eggs in Swift’s songs and music videos. So when making the video for “Anti-Hero,” she made sure to fill it with covert references her fans would enjoy piecing together.
“This song really is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves,” she shared on Instagram. “So yeah, I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.”
On The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, she revealed that Midnights is more of a reflection of herself than her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore. And she admitted it felt great to see how much fans love it.
“It’s my first directly autobiographical album in a while,” Swift said. “I’m feeling very overwhelmed by the fans’ love for the record.” She added, “I’m also feeling, like, very soft and fragile.”
