Taylor Swift’s Bold Soundtrack Move in The Handmaid’s Tale
It’s not every day that a Taylor Swift track gets dropped into a TV series, so fans’ jaws practically hit the floor when a fresh rerecording of Taylor Swift’s "Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)" blasted through a crucial uprising scene in episode nine of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The song—one of the marquee tracks from her pending Reputation (Taylor’s Version) album—matched the mood perfectly as June Osborne (played by Elisabeth Moss) led the handmaids in a tense revolt. In this scene, as red robes clash with dystopian powers, Swift’s lyrics take on a whole new edge. It wasn’t background noise—the song actually steered the entire vibe, layering on defiance and grit.
Elisabeth Moss, both star and executive producer of the show, didn’t just luck into this soundtrack moment. She’s got serious Swiftie credentials and has been lobbying for Taylor's music to hit the show's scenes for years. Moss recently confessed how this was a special moment for her—she called the timing "perfect" and doubled down on her admiration, even calling herself a full-on Swiftie. This is a big deal since Swift is famously choosy about where her music lands on TV. Moss also had backup: fellow castmate Bradley Whitford, another fan, joined her at a Swift show, making it clear that Swift-mania is alive and well on set.
A Turning Point for Swift’s Rerecordings and TV Soundtracks
Swift launching “Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)” in a show like The Handmaid’s Tale is something of a pop culture earthquake. The original song comes with baggage—revenge, reclaiming power, and turning the tables. By releasing the new version in a scene so charged with resistance, the song’s message gets updated: it’s raw, fresh, and tied directly to the narrative moment. Swift rarely greenlights TV uses for her catalog. This decision adds gravity: she’s saying, "I trust this story, and it deserves my music." For fans, it amps up excitement for Reputation (Taylor’s Version), which is now one of the most anticipated albums on the horizon, especially after October 2023’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
The synergy goes both ways. For The Handmaid’s Tale, getting this track is a flex: it modernizes a familiar uprising, gives the show social media firepower, and sends a jolt through the fandom. For Swift, it's a chance to showcase tenacity—her mission to reclaim her music isn't just a solo journey; now it’s woven into stories of collective rebellion like June’s. Expect conversations to keep swirling as Swifties (and Handmaids) geek out over what this collab means for pop music, TV, and the stories we keep telling about fighting back.
