Has Taylor Swift Has Been Dropping 'Tortured Poets' Easter Eggs Since 2022?

24 April 2024, 20:24 | Updated: 24 April 2024, 20:36

Swifties think they've uncovered Tortured Poets Department 'easter eggs' from 2022. Picture: Jeff Kravitz/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management, Republic Records

By Katie Louise Smith

Taylor Swift has also been hiding clues about The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology in her clothing for months.

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Did Taylor Swift drop 'The Tortured Poets Department' Easter eggs years before she actually released the project? Maybe... Has she secretly been leaving countless track title hints right under our noses for the past 6 months? Absolutely. And here's the evidence.

Taylor announced 'The Tortured Poets Department' live on stage at the Grammys in February 2024, revealing that she'd been keeping the album a secret for two (*insert peace sign emoji here*) years from her fans. If you're keeping track of her album release dates, that means she had started working on it before 'Midnights' was even released.

That nugget of information sent Swifties down a rabbit hole of interviews, appearances and social media posts over the past 2 years, trying to find clues about the album.

Now it's here, and we know the full tracklist, fans have discovered that Taylor was hiding Easter eggs in her clothing since October 2023. She also may have dropped some very subtle hints as far back as June 2022.

Read more: Taylor Swift Explains "Tragic" Meaning Behind Her 'Fortnight' Lyrics
Read more: Are Taylor Swift's 'thanK you aIMee' Lyrics About Kim Kardashian?

Taylor Swift shares cryptic message

Over the past year or so, Taylor has been spotted out and about sporting a preppy, collegiate-style aesthetic, donning chic pleated skirts, shirts, baseball caps and everything else in between. Fans have already linked her street style to the academic aesthetic of 'The Tortured Poets Department', but it turns out there were countless Easter eggs hidden within those outfits too.

Now, to be fair, only the Swifties who run those incredibly detailed 'Taylor Swift Style' Instagram accounts could have clocked these Easter eggs but it has quite literally been in front of our faces this entire time.

In October 2023, Taylor was apparently spotted wearing a hair clip from Anthropologie, identified by Sarah Chappelle who runs @taylorswiftstyled. The name of that hair clip? Aimee.

In October and November 2023, Taylor wore a Jacquie Aiche earring named '3 Graduated Teardrop Sophia Diamond Chain Double Stud'. Sophia, anyone?

In November 2023, Taylor carried a dark green shoulder bag from YSL which has the name 'Cassandra'.

In January 2023, she donned a pair of leather boots from The Row. They were called 'Robin'.

Aimee, Sophie, Cassandra, Robin? They're all names featured in track titles on the Anthology version of 'The Tortured Poets Department'.

Read more: How Taylor Swift's 'Cassandra' Lyrics Relate To Kim Kardashian And Greek Mythology

Taylor Swift's dark green YSL bag is called 'Cassandra' and fans think it's a 'TTPD' Easter egg. Picture: Getty

The 'TTPD' Easter eggs don't stop their either. Fans think they've spotted a couple as far back as June 2022, when Taylor made an appearance at Tribeca Film Festival to talk about her directorial debut with All Too Well: The Short Film.

As we know based on the timeline Taylor has shared with fans, she had already turned 'Midnights' in for vinyl pressing at this point in time. She began working on 'TTPD' immediately after, which means she was likely in the early stages of her 'Tortured Poets Deparment' era in June 2022.

After rewatching her Q&A, a video of Taylor appearing to reference key words and track titles from 'TTPD' has now gone viral in a TikTok video.

SHUT UP pic.twitter.com/VPrvN4wva3
— cal⸆⸉ 🍉 | ON A FOLLOW LIMIT (@thehopeofit4ll) April 23, 2024

"The head of each department"? "I had written this massive manuscript"? With Taylor's previous tease that likes to drop hints about something years in advance, the Swifties are well and truly shook. Were they early teases? Or was it just a perfect coincidence?

It's worth noting that the viral video doesn't quite get the context of the comment about the album title right, so that one might not be a direct hint or Easter egg. Taylor was actually responding to the interviewer's suggestion of her previous sentence being turned into an album title, not hinting at the actual name of her next album itself.

Read more: Taylor Swift Fans Think Her 'The Manuscript' Lyrics Are Inspired By Jake Gyllenhaal

That said, her replying that the sentence was a 'little long' and that she'd have to refer to its 'initials'?! Once again, she is never beating the sorcery allegations.

It's only been a week since 'TTPD' entered our lives so there's probably still so many Easter eggs, clues and hints to discover from the past few years. Have you spotted any out in the wild yet?