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Manspreading, screaming & public urination: Taylor Swift plays a man who's The Man in video for 'The Man'

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Taylor Swift releases new music video
Taylor Swift music video "The Man"
ByAndrea Dresdale
February 27, 2020, 3:56 PM

Taylor Swift pulls double duty in her new video for "The Man": not only did she direct the clip, but also, she stars in it in disguise as, you guessed it, a man.

The man whom Swift plays is essentially the character Leonardo DiCaprio played in "Wolf of Wall Street," which is fitting, considering she name-checks the actor in the lyrics.

Bearded, dark-haired and wearing a suit, Swift as "The Man" treats her employees terribly, manspreads and smokes on the subway, has one-night stands, parties on a yacht with bikini girls, treats women like objects, throws a violent tantrum on a tennis court, and even relieves herself against a subway wall scrawled with the names of her albums.

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Yet when "he" deigns to pick up a child in a park, he's hailed as "World's Greatest Dad."

Flash forward years and "The Man," now a decrepit old man, is shown marrying a much, much younger woman as everyone cheers."

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At the end, in the middle of the tennis court tantrum, we hear Swift yell cut and "he" comes over to herself in the director's chair and asks, in a voice dubbed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Hey, just checking. Was that last take more what you had in mind?"

Taylor Swift speaks to herself dressed as a man in her new music video "The Man."
Taylor Swift music video "The Man"

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To which Swift replies, "Pretty good. Could you try to be sexier? Maybe more likeable this time?" To which "she" replies, "OK, no problem."

Swift, the director, then praises a female actor who had a non-speaking role in the same scene, telling her, "Excellent work over there ... that was astonishing."

Taylor Swift before makeup and after for her new music video "The Man."
Taylor Swift music video "The Man"

As the credits roll, we see a montage of images showing Swift transformed into "The Man."

The video was, as the credits note, "directed by Taylor Swift," "written by Taylor Swift," "owned by Taylor Swift" and "starring Taylor Swift."

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  • Taylor Swift

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