Did Taylor Swift Have a Secret Handmaid’s Tale Cameo?! Elisabeth Moss Gives Us the Scoop (Exclusive)
When The Handmaid’s Tale‘s penultimate episode dropped Tuesday, Taylor Swift fans rejoiced: The hour’s opening moments were backed by “Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version),” an inclusion they hoped was a hint that Swift’s re-recorded Reputation album was on its way.
But a few sharp-eyed fans watching the sequence, which featured Elisabeth Moss‘ June and her fellow handmaids on the warpath to destroy Gilead, thought Swift had even more influence on the scene. As in: They were fairly certain she was in the scene as an background actor, albeit with her back to the camera.
The supposed Swift can be seen in the video above. As June and the others walk toward the trucks that will carry them to safety, members of the Mayday rebellion climb out of the vehicles to let the women in. The final Mayday operative, who is dressed all in black, appears taller than his or her compatriots and whose face we never see? That’s Swift, some of her devoted fans theorize. (Read a full recap of the episode here.)
The more we thought about a secret Swift cameo, the more plausible it seemed. Fact 1: For years, there’s been a mutual love affair between the Hulu series and the singer/songwriter. (See video evidence here.) In a statement released after the episode started streaming, Moss 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,” says Moss. “Taylor has been such an inspiration to me personally. 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.”
Fact 2: Swift’s Eras Tour stopped in Toronto, which is where Handmaid’s Tale filmed, from Nov. 14-23, 2024. Thanks to Transparent‘s Amy Landecker, wife of Handmaid’s star Bradley Whitford, we have photographic evidence that Moss and Whitford attended the record-breaking tour during that time… which was not far off from when the drama filmed its final two episodes.
But as hardcore Swift fans know, popular theories don’t always play out in real life. (Remember when she allegedly was going to pop up in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show?) So we decided to settle things by going straight to the source: Handmaid‘s star/executive producer/director Moss.
We’ve included a delighted Moss’ comments below, but bottom line? Sorry, Swifties.
TVLINE | I have to ask you something that’s been on my mind for the past 24 hours: That is not Taylor Swift in Episode 9, getting out of the truck, is it? Some Swifties think it is.
ELISABETH MOSS | No, wait. What do you mean? I literally don’t know about this. Yes, I’m listening. God, I love them.
TVLINE | [I briefly explain the scene.] There’s a tall extra that gets out of the truck. The fans think it’s her, from behind.
[Surprised gasp] That’s amazing! [Laughs] Of course it’s not. Of course it’s not her. Oh my God, that’s hilarious. I love that idea, though. But this is why, one of the reasons we were so excited about this moment, just the fan engagement on Handmaid’s is so intense, and then marrying that with the Swifties is like, Jesus Christ. It’s so fun! So no, I’m afraid that’s not Taylor. She’s pretty busy. I feel like if she was going to come do our show, we would’ve made sure we saw her face. [Laughs]
TVLINE | She was in Toronto at the end of last year with the Eras Tour, so there’s rabbit hole to go down.
Yes, I’ll clear up that incredibly astute observation. A lot of us went to the Eras Tour in November in Toronto, which is partially why Taylor was very top of mind for me. But also Reputation came out at a really, I think it was Season 4, and we were obsessed with that album on set, as a cast. It’s been a long mutual love affair between her and a lot of our cast. I mean, Josh Charles was in her music video… [Using her music] was something that, as you probably know, I’ve wanted to do, well, from the beginning. [Laughs] I was going to say, ‘Since I’ve been a director,’ but from the beginning! I’m so glad that we didn’t do it before and waited until now. Now that we have it, I’m so glad it happened the way that it did.
Were you psyched to hear Swift in Episode 9? Are you bummed she wasn’t actually in the episode? And are you ready for the series finale on Tuesday? Hit the comments and let us know!
Big deal…all a big to do about nothing!
…but you read it…mission accomplished, tvline.
I don’t think the song worked in that moment at all. It seemed like the wrong tone and really jarring. They could have picked a more appropriate piece of music for that fairly powerful scene.
Tou can tell that she’s lying. Reputation came out around season 1 an even a casual Swiftie fan would know that. She’s BSing
It’s possible she did it but didn’t want to be recognized. Daniel Craig is the stromtrooper Rey mind-tricks in The Force Awakens. He was at the studio and asked to be in the movie.