YouTube/Taylor Swift
You need to take a breather, relax from the bad vibes and just… chill. Do so with Taylor Swift‘s new video for “You Need To Calm Down,” that’s just about anything but chill. But there’s lots of pastel, lots of spring and summer, lots of good energy, and also, a burning trailer.
There’s a lot going on, but you need to calm down. Let Swift lead you to this promised land of sunbathing and equality populated by a star-studded cast of LGBTQ+ community members and allies.
Swift is chilling in “You Need To Calm Down” with a wide cast of people in a secluded land away from hate and discrimination. She’s lounging in a lawn chair, soaking in a fresh sun and also relaxing in a pool, unbothered. Her world turns upside down with argumentative people coming to protest and massive food fights, but through it all, she’s making the best of it, smiling. It doesn’t matter that there are people angry at other people for just existing and living their truths. Swift and the gang are happy and living their best lives, regardless.
If you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see a ton of familiar faces: Ellen DeGeneres receiving a positively badass tattoo from Adam Lambert, Billy Porter getting another spectacular fit off, Laverne Cox showing off a spectacular bikini bod, and — perhaps most notably of all — former Swift rival Katy Perry dressed as a gigantic cheeseburger. And, perhaps inexplicably, Ryan Reynolds is painting what’s going on behind the scenes.
Swift revealed the cover for her forthcoming album Lover last week in all its pastel-rich goodness. There’s still a short wait for it – one that we’re obsessing over along with Lindsay Lohan – before it gets here on August 23 with its super-stuffed tracklist of 18 cuts.
In addition to sharing details about the album on Instagram, she also went live to get personal with her fanbase. “This album, in tone, it’s very romantic,” she said. “And not just simply thematically, like it’s all love songs or something. Because I think that the idea of something being romantic, it doesn’t have to be a happy song. I think you can find romance in loneliness or sadness org going through a conflict or dealing with things in your life. It just kind of looks at those things with a very romantic gaze.”
Watch Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down” video up above and just… relax.
