The penultimate episode of The Handmaid’s Tale offered fans a glimpse of Taylor Swift’s long-awaited Reputation (Taylor’s Version), prompting speculation that there were even more hidden Easter eggs onscreen.
Elisabeth Moss’ June led an army of Handmaids into a rebellion to a soundtrack of “Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)” during the Tuesday, May 20, episode. Fans quickly theorized that one of the shadowed figures exiting a truck behind them was Swift, 35, because the actor’s gait presumably mimicked the pop star’s own stage-worthy strut.
Amid fans’ fervent hopes for an unexpected Swift cameo amid her professional hiatus post-Eras Tour, Moss is clearing the air about the onscreen performer’s identity.
“Of course it’s not her,” Moss, 42, told TVLine in an interview published on Friday, May 23, joking that she found the fan theory to be “amazing” despite its inaccuracies.
“Oh my God, that’s hilarious. I love that idea, though,” Moss, who also directed the episode, told the outlet. “But this is one of the reasons we were so excited about this moment, just the fan engagement on Handmaid’s is so intense, and then marrying that with the Swifties is, like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ It’s so fun!”
According to Moss, Swift was likely too “busy” to play an unnamed, mysterious extra on the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale.
“I’m afraid that’s not Taylor. She’s pretty busy,” Moss quipped. “I feel like if she was going to come do our show, we would’ve made sure we saw her face.”
Many Swifties played into the speculation because Swift brought her Eras Tour to Toronto last fall, which aligned with the filming dates and locations of The Handmaid’s Tale finale.
“I’ll clear up that incredibly astute observation. A lot of us went to the Eras Tour in November in Toronto, which is partially why Taylor was very top of mind for me,” Moss said. “But also [her original version of] Reputation came out at … I think it was [during] season 4, and we were obsessed with that album on set, as a cast.”
She continued, “It’s been a long mutual love affair between her and a lot of our cast. I mean, Josh Charles was in her [‘Fortnight’] music video [and using her music] was something that I’ve wanted to do, well, from the beginning.I was going to say, ‘Since I’ve been a director,’ but from the beginning!”
Moss, who attended an Eras Tour show with costars Bradley Whitford and Yvonne Strahovski, wanted to use a Swift song in an earlier episode — but is ultimately happy it panned out the way it did.
“I’m so glad that we didn’t do it before and waited until now,” Moss said. “Now that we have it, I’m so glad it happened the way that it did.”
The Handmaid’s Tale is currently streaming on Hulu.
