Which celebrities Taylor Swift mentions in ‘The Tortured Poets Department’?

Taylor Swift’s newest albums, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ and ‘Anthology,’ are full of celebrity references, and we will take you through some of the most notable mentions.

Early mentions on the second track

One of the first mentions is received by Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas, two great artists Swift uses to describe how she feels about her romantic partner. Some have speculated the song must be about 1975 headman Matty Healy. Smith and Thomas lived in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in the early 1950s; Swift uses their cultural relevance to make her point.

It could be that Swift’s partner (at the time) compared them to the greats of the last century, and she responded that they had not reached that level.

While Smith and Thomas received a spot in the song’s chorus, Swift mentions a few other celebrities in the song. Swift mentioned pop singer Charlie Puth: “We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” In speaking to the complicated and intense nature of the relationship, writing, “But you told Lucy you’d kill yourself if I ever leave; And I had said that to Jack about you so I felt seen.” Lucy could reference Lucy Dacus, the singer-songwriter rising to prominence, and Jack could be Swift’s longtime friend and collaborator, Jack Antonoff.

A throwback to the roarin’ twenties

Clara Bow, the Hollywood star who left her mark on early American cinema in the 1920s, receives her own song on Swift’s latest album. Bow’s role in ‘It’ is famous for popularizing the ‘it girl,’ a concept that Swift uses in the song to speak to the pressures for women both in and outside the music industry.

In the song ‘Clara Bow,’ the pop star also references Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks. “You look like Stevie Nicks in ‘75, the hair and lips; Crowd goes wild at her fingertips, half moon shines a full eclipse,” sings Swift in the last track of ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’