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Stephen Colbert and Taylor Swift got into a tense standoff over one song: "You need more..."

Taylor Swift left Stephen Colbert rattled as she debunks his wild theory on her song —and his reaction is priceless!
PUBLISHED 3 DAYS AGO
(L-R) Screenshot of Taylor Swift and Stephen Colbert from 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' (Cover Image Source: YouTube | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)
(L-R) Screenshot of Taylor Swift and Stephen Colbert from 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' (Cover Image Source: YouTube | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

Taylor Swift, 34, is a global icon famous for songs like 'Shake It Off,' 'Is It Over Now?' and record record-breaking album 'Fearless.' Per The Things, the singer is known for writing songs that relate to her personal experiences and are inspired by real-life stories. However, on April 13, 2021, when she appeared on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' things quickly took a hilariously bizarre turn when Colbert, in an unusually serious tone, commenced the show by wanting to clear the suspicion on an unresolved "big story." Fully convinced that the song 'Hey Stephen' was about him, he said, "I stand by that theory. 'Hey Stephen' has got to be about me, just like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds has got to be about Lucille Ball flying in a plane with all her jewelry. To believe anything else, you have to be high on acid."



 

At this moment, Taylor Swift joined the conversation, appearing via video call. After the usual pleasantries, Colbert wasted no time. "Listen, I just want to get this out there. You recently re-recorded 'Fearless (Taylor’s Version)', so I've got to ask, is the song 'Hey Stephen' about me?" Swift chuckled. "No, Stephen. I-I mean, I first recorded that song in 2008. I think I was like 18." Colbert, still clinging to hope, shot back, "Yeah! I was... I was also a younger age." Still pushing, Colbert asked again, "Are you sure 'Hey Stephen' is not about me?" Swift playfully shut him down: "It’s just the power of music, Stephen. Good songs make you feel like they’re about you."

Screenshot of Taylor Swift holding her old Mood Board from 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' (Image Source: YouTube | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert)
Screenshot of Taylor Swift holding her old Mood Board from 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' (Image Source: YouTube | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert)

But then came the plot twist. "I had a lot of fun recording the song," Swift said. "To get back in the same headspace, I dug out my old mood board." Colbert, now intrigued, leaned in. "Um, Taylor, those are all pictures of me." Swift, feigning confusion, corrected him. "No, this is a pizza. Funny story: I was pretty hungry, so I stayed up for three days making this vision board. So, I got pizza and I ate it. So it's inaccurate to say it's about you because it's a pretty big picture... of pizza." Colbert, visibly distressed, argued, "It really—it’s not even vanity, it really seems like the song is about me."


 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by The Late Show (@colbertlateshow)


 

With perfect comedic timing, Swift quipped, "Don’t flatter yourself. My song 'Hey Stephen' is not about you any more than my album 1989 is about that year you spent waiting tables on the lunch shift at Scoozi, an Italian restaurant in Chicago that, by the way, serves a really incredible slice of pizza." Colbert froze. "How do you even know that?" Swift grinned.


 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Justin (@swiftutation)


 

"Anyone who checks your Wikipedia page would know that. You need to calm down—which, by the way, is also not a song about you." Finally, Swift ended the debate by revealing that 'Hey Stephen' was actually about... Stephen King. "Really? Master of horror Stephen King?" Colbert asked, clearly deflated. Swift nodded. "Yes, he’s amazing. 'The Dark Tower' series changed my life." Colbert, still unconvinced, muttered, "No matter how much you insist that 'Hey Stephen' is not about me, I keep getting the strong feeling that it is." With a knowing smile, Swift wrapped it up. "That’s really for you to process."

Stephen Barker Liles performs at Country Thunder Arizona 2013 - Day 2 on April 12, 2013 in Florence, Arizona. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images For Country Thunder)
Stephen Barker Liles performs at Country Thunder Arizona 2013 - Day 2 on April 12, 2013 in Florence, Arizona. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images For Country Thunder)

However, Us Weekly reported that Stephen Barker Liles once claimed the song 'Hey Stephen' was, in fact, about him. "It was like, she was just about to release the 'Fearless' album, so we went on our first tour, and [she] wrote a song about me. We got close, and it was cool." Additionally, in another interview with Boot, Barker also mentioned, "But she didn't say like, 'I wrote a nice song about you,' so I'm just thinking, 'What did I do?' [laughs] Because she doesn't really write very many nice songs about guys. So I was very relieved when it turned out to be a nice song, and it's actually one of the nicest things anybody's ever done for me."

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