Taylor Swift dropped her latest music video on Sept. 27, for “Patient Zero,” at the MTV VMAs. After winning the first ever Artist Director Honors award at the ceremony, she introduced her brand new music video for the song that dropped on Sept. 25. And if you were too entranced in the deep storytelling going on in the video to look closely at the characters, you might have missed a super quick Cara Delevingne cameo.
The video follows Swift as an old girlfriend of Colin Farrell’s character, who gives advice to his new partner, played by Swift’s longtime friend and Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson. Midway through the video, Delevingne makes a quick appearance during a party scene in the video as Farrell’s character’s new girl. While Swift had already confirmed Johnson and Farrell’s appearances ahead of the video, Delevingne’s feature came as a total surprise.Â
“Cara, thank you for agreeing to play the lusty other woman,” Swift wrote on her socials. “That’s what friends are for?”
The beginning of the video shows Swift and Johnson mirroring each other with matching outfits and hairstyles as they go swimming, get ready in the mirror, and interact with Farrell (“Giggling with your friend because you’re twinning for an entire shoot was a new and truly delightful experience,” Swift wrote in her post). There’s also clips interspersed of Johnson and Farrell seemingly happy, that is, until Delevingne shows up and steals his attention. At the end of the video, Swift and Johnson stand at a gravesite, looking at a headstone dedicated to the “Patient Zero” narrator.
Swift revealed the video during her acceptance speech for the inaugural Artist Directors Award, given to her in honor of her self-directed music videos. “Patient Zero” is the 18th video Swift has directed, and her artistry has truly evolved, as she even wrote in a fight scene — a-la-”All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” — for Johnson and Farrell that made the video’s story feel all the more real.
Swift announced the “Patient Zero” music video would premiere at the VMAs on Thursday, Sept. 24, right before releasing four new songs from The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, with a teaser trailer released by CBS Mornings. The pop star directed and stars in the video, alongside Johnson and Farrell. Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki, known for his work on Birdman and The Revenant, led the video’s cinematography.Â
“One of my friends told us that she had been reached out to by the new girlfriend of an ex of hers, asking for guidance on if she had had the same experiences with this guy that this new girlfriend was having,” Swift told Capital FM on the inspiration for the song. She decided to write the song from the old girlfriend’s perspective as she received that call. And as soon as the clip was revealed, fans took to socials, suggesting that Swift played the old girlfriend in the video, with Johnson and Farrell as the new couple. And of course, they were right.
Swift is known for making her music videos into full-blown productions, and “Patient Zero” is no different. How about we call it a short film, and get Swift an Oscar while she’s at it?