Taylor Swift takes shots at Leonardo DiCaprio and Kanye West in 'The Man' music video
Taylor Swift has taken patriarchy on in her new music video 'The Man' that released on February 27. The song is her fourth single from her seventh studio album 'Lover'. This is her first new music release since her Big Machine Records departure.
The song throws a spear at male executives, and more specifically, Scooter Braun, who purchased her back catalog in 2019. In the video, directed, produced and owned by the artiste, we see a hardly recognizable Swift dressed up as a Braun-like character.
In the video, the man flashes his wealth and success around fans as well as people who aren't so welcoming of his presence. Apart from all the scenes of lavish living, we also see the character light up a cigar next to a disgruntled passenger on a train, urinate at a station and throw a tantrum on a tennis court.
The video is the latest shot fired in her beef with Braun. According to The Atlantic, Swift accused him in July last year of trying to "dismantle" her "musical legacy" after he bought the Big Machine label for $300 million last June.
A reference to that is shown in the station scene where the wall that is urinated on (shown as 'The Man' once it is complete) has graffiti with the names of Swift's first six albums, all of which are owned by the label in question.
On a poster on the wall, it reads, "Missing. If found return to Taylor Swift" and besides that is a "no scooters" sign.
According to BBC, Swift has claimed in November that the label's founder Scott Borchetta and Braun had prevented her from performing a medley of her old hits at the American Music Awards, although they denied the claims and the performance went on as originally planned.
Following the public fall out, in the same month, Braun pleaded with Swift to stop the public campaign against him, saying that his family received death threats.
"This morning I spoke out publicly for the first time saying I wouldn’t participate in a social media war," he said in an Instagram post, according to NME, adding, "However I came home tonight to find my wife had received a phone call threatening the safety of our children as well as other threats seen above."
The singer made a subtle nod to their spat while performing at the awards ceremony, performed on stage with a prison-style white shirt stenciled with the names of the albums in question while performing new and old songs.
In this new project, Swift even takes a dig at other famed male figures, such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Kanye West. In the music video, the character she plays cheers and toasts champagne with sunbathing models while the lyrics, "I'd be just like Leo in Saint-Tropez" are sung.
When Swift posted a teaser image for the video on Twitter on Tuesday, fans first drew a connection to Kanye West. The image featured a white arched hallway that many pointed out looks strikingly similar to the interior of the rapper's palatial Calabasas home.
Watch the music video for 'The Man' here.