The new Taylor Swift (sorry, the old one can't come to the phone right now on account of the fact that she's dead) is proving to be more feisty and devious than we thought. After wiping everything off all her social media profiles, and leaving fans in the dark for a few panicky weeks, Swift teased out the release of her new album Reputation with a serious of dark, moody Instagram posts including a creepy snake animation. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BYI48JxniO3/?taken-by=taylorswift]] Okay, Taylor – we get it. She released a series of singles including Look What You Made Me Do, which was ripe with not-so-discreet jabs at her mortal enemies Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and Katy Perry. The full album came out on November 10 last year, and she's still milking it for what it's worth by slowly releasing the music videos over recent weeks. And now, in a behind-the-scenes "making of" video for the End Game music video, Swift revealed another sneaky trick she used so no one leaked anything from her highly coveted album before November the 10th, and landed themselves on the mortal enemy list themselves. The way she protected her music from co-workers, backup dancers and even her besties is kind of genius, and also telling of Swift's trust issues. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BbN9y5Sn4SQ/?taken-by=taylorswift]]

Swift reveals that when they're recording dance or party sequences in the music video, she doesn't let her backup dancers or anyone on set listen to the music. Uh... but then how do they dance in time to the beat? Well, apparently the dancers use a "click track" when cameras roll so they can hear the beat they should sync their moves to, but they don't hear the actual lyrics or melody. Skip to 3:56 to see a bunch of dressed up people acting tipsy and dancing together in a silent room. Yep, it looks as embarrassing as it sounds.

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=295&v=VA7Y_Psp5l4]] "I commend them fully because um... they've been pretending like there's music playing when there's not," she says in the video. Swift revealed that she wears beige-coloured wireless headphones when recording so that she can silently mouth the lyrics to the camera. And it's not just backup dancers she's cautious about. Even Ed Sheeran – one of few certified Swifty besties, whose vocals also feature in End Game – was treated with scepticism when given details about the track. [[youtubewidget||[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfnCAmr569k]]]] "I remember when I did a song with [Taylor] for her album, I was in San Francisco, and they sent someone with a locked briefcase with an iPad and one song on it," Sheeran recalled. "They flew to San Francisco and played the song I’ve done with her and asked if I like it...I was like, ‘Yeah,’ and they took it back. That’s how I hear it.” No doubt the individual entrusted with delivering the track personally to Sheeran was wearing some kind of Men In Black costume and an expression reminiscent of The Terminator. Yeesh, the lengths this girl went to to protect her music!

When you're a celebrity as famous as Taylor Swift, it's inevitable that people will gossip about you. Whether you're a fan, a hater, or simply indifferent, it doesn't matter. When an artist gets that big, the rest of us become like satellites pulled into the orbit of a gas giant. Ever since Swift made her debut as a wholesome country singer way back in 2006, her discography and career has always drawn inspiration from her own personal life, and when you're someone who writes love songs and has had as many romances as she has, then you're always  going to provoke people into trying to decipher your lyrics.

Tay-tay has had her fair share of feuds over the years, and some would say that she's been a little overexposed lately. Still, the tabloids can't get enough of her, and her fans are among the most devoted in the music industry. Her "pure-as-driven-snow" image has led a lot of internet users to wonder if she really is all that she seems, if she really is sincere about herself. Does she really have that many exes? Is she hiding her true sexuality from the world? Are her famously long legs really insured for $40 million each? The rumours go on and on, getting more and more ludicrous with each retelling, and some of them defy the limits of credibility. Welcome to the insane world of the Taylor Swift conspiracy.

1. The missing navel

If you've ever kept a keen eye on Taylor's sense of style, then you might have noticed her predilection for crop-tops and skirts. Fair enough right? But if you've been paying extra-close attention then you might have noticed that she rarely wears anything that shows off her belly-button. Seriously! If you do a quick image search then you'll see that her navel is excluded from most outfits by the waistline for her skirt. What's going on? Is she ashamed of it? The subject was first brought up in August 2014 when New York Magazine published an article titled "There’s No Proof Taylor Swift Has a Belly Button." Some internet-users even went so far as to speculate that she doesn't actually have one; that her tummy is just completely smooth and flat. The speculation got so wild that Taylor eventually had to clear up the issue personally with a bikini snap on Instagram.

2. She's had a lizard baby

Taylor's detractors like to call her out on her supposedly two-faced nature by referring to her as a snake. But some of her more paranoid critics seem to have taken this moniker to David Icke levels and have actually outright accused her of being some kind of reptilian. On a conspiracy theory subreddit, Redditor ParamoreFanClub claimed that Swift was pregnant with a clutch of snake babies when she tweeted a serpentine picture on her official Twitter account. Obviously, Swift fans didn't take this accusation very seriously, but her haters jumped on the idea immediately.

3. She's actually a clone

Similar to the old wives tale about Paul McCartney, this theory postulates that the real Taylor Swift perished in a tragic accident an indeterminate amount of time ago, and has since been replaced by some kind of clone or doppelgänger. A Reddit conspiracy theorist with the handle: "A_D_D_I_C_T" wrote: "Is she already dead and replaced? Failure to comply, she wanted to keep her self, so they killed her and replaced her. This has been done before with Miley Cyrus as the notable example. She was told to flip her image and become a whore but didn't want to so they killed her and replaced her." In support of this sci-fi idea, they cited a lyric from the middle eight of the track "Look What You Made Me Do" where Swift again states: "I'm sorry but the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's DEAD." Personally, I'm not at all convinced by this one.

4. She's a secret Satanist

Over the years, any number of celebrities have been accused of worshipping hell and praising Satan, so in this regard Taylor is no different from the rest. This theory has sprung up as a result of Swift's unfortunate resemblance to Zeena Schreck -  a Berlin-based artist and former High Priestess and the spokesperson of the Church of Satan; because Taylor looks so similar, many fans have speculated that she is actually some kind of double of Schreck, or is related to her somehow.

5. Her real name is "Becky"

This is one of the more tongue-in-cheek theories out there, but it's still worth mentioning. Back in April 2012, a Tumblr user with the handle "Yallarebrutalizingme" uploaded an image of a tween Taylor Swift, claiming that it was her cousin Becky, before going on to claim that she had died tragically as a result of "snorting marijuana at a party one night." When other Tumblr-users pointed out that the picture showed Taylor Swift, a number of fans started using the name "Becky" as an in-joke. But who knows? Maybe her real name is Becky, and maybe this ties into the clone theory mentioned above.

6. She tried to tarnish Calvin Harris' reputation

Taylor and Calvin Harris used to be one of the cutest celebrity pairings in the music industry, but they still split up. Why? Nobody seemed to know the real reason. It was beyond fishy. But some of Calvin Harris' fans claim that Taylor took the breakup badly and that she's been waging a b*tchy war on social media to wreck his image ever since. Supporters of this theory even went so far as to claim that Taylor cheated on Harris and that her later relationship with Tom Hiddleston was a cover for the infidelity.

7. She's a Pizzagate truther

Pizzagate is a conspiracy theory that was bandied about by various members of the alt-right in the lead-up to the 2016 US presidential elections, in which proponents postulated that numerous Democrats in Hilary Clinton's campaign were responsible for covert acts of paedophilia in numerous Washington DC pizza restaurants. Supporters of this theory claim that John Podesta's hacked emails contained coded allusions to acts of child sex abuse. Some Pizzagate truthers have come to believe that Swift also supports the rumours, after the release of the music video for her single "Look What You Made Me Do" contained a black-on-red spiralling imagery, which one theorist claims represents "Pizzagate unravelling and spiralling out of the globalist's control. The full-screen worldwide flash of yellow means the globalists are losing control of their mind control apparatus. Their poison cloud is about to dissipate."

8. Her open letter to Apple was a publicity stunt

Back in 2015, Taylor Swift wrote an open letter to Apple on her official Tumblr post account, protesting how they neglected to pay artists for the use of their songs. The very next day, Apple changed their policy; something which usually takes weeks of planning. Suspicious? Many suspect that after Swift had a falling out with Spotify (one of Apple Music's main competitors) she teamed up with Apple and wrote her open letter to give Apple a free advertisement for their new streaming policy.  Taylor later starred in a number of ads for Apple Music, which seems to lend credence to the idea.

9. Her relationship with Tom Hiddleston was faked

A lot of people thought that Hiddleswift was a bit ... forced. Her brief fling with Tom Hiddleston simply felt somewhat insincere to a lot of people, and although all of her former relationships have fallen under media scrutiny, this one took the cake. Interestingly enough, all the paparazzi pictures taken of the couple together (including the one with that infamous t-shirt) were snapped up by the same agency. Thus some speculated that the romance was actually an elaborate PR strategy created to divert attention from her Calvin Harris split, as as a number of other regrettable gaffes. For instance, their relationship was outed during the height of the Kim Kardashian feud, when the reality TV star began asking questions about Swift’s knowledge of Kanye West’s song Famous.

10. Her feud with Kanye West isn’t real

We all remember the cringe-worthy moment when Kanye West infamously crashed the VMA stage and interrupted Swift's acceptance speech. Some people have wondered if Kanye’s interruption was actually orchestrated by PR teams. Apparently, if you want proof then all you need to do is listen to the line "I made that b*tch famous" in the titular West song. Some have even gone on to suggest that the Swift/West feuds have always been publicity stunts to keep the artists in the public consciousness. It certainly had been discussed to death by now.

A Taylor Swift conspiracy will always lead people on. It's human nature to assume that the rich and powerful are up to something, but there are certainly some conspiracy theories which are a lot more convincing than others. I mean, clones, snake babies and Satanic cults? What is this, some kind of comic book? You'll never be certain that Taylor is squeaky-clean, but don't let paranoia stop you from enjoying her music.

Taylor Swift recently released the music video for "Delicate," the fifth single from her acclaimed album, Reputation. In the video, she tears off half of her dress, makes goofy faces in a mirror and dances exuberantly - even in the rain. Like her other videos, it's a catchy song, with striking visuals, and there's probably a subliminal Kim Kardashian diss in there somewhere.

In a memorable scene, a woman puts on lipstick in the bathroom, staring at Taylor as if she is a mirror. That woman is actress Junko Cheng, and after the music video's release, her daughter freaked out on Twitter. And who wouldn't? Appearing in a Taylor Swift music video is pretty cool. She wrote, "this is my mom. she’s 57 and felt like pursuing acting recently... mostly for shits and giggles, but here she is. So beautiful."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/megchenggg/status/973801761608818688]]

Of course, everybody is on Twitter these days, including your lame parents. Junko replied to her daughter's tweet, writing, "I actually made my teenage daughter proud. #winning." See, parents? If you want to make your children proud of you, all you have to do is appear in a Taylor Swift music video. You will have their respect for life.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/junkocheng/status/974157570695835648]]

After the cute mother-daughter tweets went viral, Entertainment Weekly interviewed Junko about her experience on set. The actress spilled some behind-the-scenes secrets, revealing that the production was top secret, on a Mission: Impossible level:

"I didn’t know what this was for. I knew it was a music video, that’s all I knew. Initially it said for an unnamed male artist so they really kept it under wraps. When I arrived for the wardrobe, they confiscated my phone and I had to sign a non-disclosure [agreement], and I walked onto the set, which was like a huge, like a major motion picture kind of set with lighting and camera and crew, and people running around

The guy that met me with a clipboard said, “Just remember when you leave this place, this didn’t happen, okay?” So everybody inside, the other actors that were inside, were like, “This must be legit. We don’t know who it is, but it must be legit. When I showed up for my hair and makeup, that’s when I found out it was Taylor Swift, and I almost fell out of my chair. I had to swear to secrecy for 5 or 6 weeks before the video came out. I was dying. But it was so fun."

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCXGJQYZ9JA]]

Wow, who knew that music video productions were so secretive? "Just remember when you leave this place, this didn't happen, okay?" That sounds like something an FBI agent would say. But I guess it makes sense to be covert, considering Taylor is such a huge celebrity. And now Junko is becoming a bit of a celebrity herself, as well as the coolest mom ever. She says that after her kids saw the video, "They were completely floored. They were just shocked." Pretty impressive, for someone who started pursuing acting recently "for shits and giggles."

Taylor Swift is doing a lot of peculiar things at the moment. In August, she got everyone's attention by wiping everything off her website, as well as her Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr sites. She eventually broke her social media hiatus by posting some creepy glitch videos of an aggressive (and spikey) snake to her 104 million Instagram followers. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BYI48JxniO3/?taken-by=taylorswift]] Taylor's hoard of devoted fans, also known as "Swifties" put their detective hats on and started speculating about what it could all mean. It turns out that Taylor did everything in preparation of announcing her new album, Reputation. She dropped the first single Look What You Made Me Do, in which she announced that the "old" Taylor Swift couldn't come to the phone right now on account of her being dead. Since then, she's hardly been seen making public appearances or giving interviews, and this "new" Taylor Swift seems to be much more secretive and defensive than before. Which is why Swifties are freaking out about what she's been doing lately. According to a bunch of publicly shared screenshots, Taylor has been spending a bit of time on Instagram lurking her followers. Swifties have posted screenshots in which they've captured the real Taylor Swift watching their Instagram stories, joining their live streams, liking posts and sending them messages.

She joined this fan's live video:

And then left the most Swift-esque emoji:

Someone else noticed that Taylor viewed her Instagram story:

And the superstar even sent a smiley reply:

She sent replies to the Instagram stories of other people:

She did some good old-fashioned Insta-creeping with random likes of old cat photos:

And even participated in someone's poll asking if they should ask their crush to homecoming:

And in a poll about herself:

Obviously answering yes:

Another girl shared her and Taylor's DMs, before fangirling out of control and ceasing the conversation:

And it seems these "Instagram live things" are what Taylor is spending most of her time watching:

When people noticed that Taylor had noticed them, they used the precious opportunity for her attention to ask important questions, like the wellbeing of her two cats, Meredith and Olivia:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TSUpdatesNY/status/917206026729824256]]

She even gets borderline desperate to be noticed by a live-streaming fan here:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TSUpdatesNY/status/917114769991192577]] Which makes you wonder exactly why she's doing it? This kind of low-key stalking is getting Taylor Swift fans very excited, and some are hoping she's using Instagram to scout attendees for a private concert before the release of Reputation, in a similar vein to the Secret Sessions she hosted ahead of the release of her album 1989, where she used Twitter to find guests. But maybe that's reading a bit far into it. The pop star continues to mystify us all, but who knows if her odd behaviour online will actually amount to something, or if we're all just wetting ourselves for nothing. It could just be that Taylor is just a regular Insta-creep like you and me, and that she gets a kick out of interacting with her fans through social media.

Today Taylor Swift released her sixth studio album Reputation, and "Swifties" all over the world rejoiced. As a huge Kanye West fan, I celebrated the occasion by buying Beyoncé's Lemonade again, because it's better than anything Taylor Swift will ever do. This marks the end of a promotional cycle that has been pretty weird. It started with a social media blackout, as Taylor deleted all of her posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Then she posted a cryptic ten second video of snake, which was either a reference to her haters, or she just took a Harry Potter quiz and got sorted into Slytherin. (Which I do not buy - she's a total Hufflepuff). Afterward, Taylor released her first single, "I'm Too Sexy" - I mean, "Look What You You Made Me Do." She declares, "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now, because she's dead!" (Will have to try that one on telemarketers.) Then the 'New Taylor' stalked her fans on Instagram, leaving them sweet messages,  which was pretty cool. Then Tay Tay got Perez Hilton suspended from Twitter for posting a picture of the Reputation tracklist, which was not cool. Now Reputation is finally out, and her fans are going crazy. Here are 18 of the funniest reactions on Twitter, presented by me, a snarky Kanye West fan. 1. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/13swift1989/status/929011224267735040]] Do you like the album though? 2. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/alexandergold/status/928880539544698881]] Well, I can't wait to not invite you to my New Year's Eve parties. Weirdo. 3.  [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lovinhimwasREaD/status/928899309218574336]] I hope during the fifth listen Kanye smashes through your wall like the Kool-Aid Man. 4.  [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/CJMix1051/status/928960532496965632]] The Old Clint sounds a lot better than the New Clint. 5. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/LinsonJamess/status/928884244801191936]] I agree, if a guy's talking about his bowel movements, you don't owe him a thing. 6. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TaylorSwiftMore/status/928991243685781506]] This is a good thing? 7. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/jonsolis/status/928865992612155393]] I like how she rhymes "getaway car" with "getaway car" eight times. This is the kind of poetry Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath dreamed of creating. 8.  [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/reputationsss/status/929022299159912449]] Actually, you know what? This review makes me want to listen to the album. 9. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/shadesofslaylor/status/929012747060224001]] You mean like Beyoncé did a year ago? 10. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/pegacorn_tay/status/929022857404850177]] Thank God, she only owns four mansions. Everyone in Puerto Rico is doing fine btw. 11. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/rossmacdonaId/status/928983920850415616]] I wish should take a getaway car away from this "Getaway Car" song. 12. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/gayIorswift13/status/928942464735395841]] I don't know who "Joe" is, but you can always count on "Gaylorswift13" for thoughtful commentary. 13. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/bo_ewing/status/929011828176379906]] If only that gif was real. 14. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/kaysutherland22/status/928871079908483072]] I'll just take your word for it. 15. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/shadesofslaylor/status/928931400949960704]] You cosplayed as Old Steve Urkel? 16. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/paigehettinger/status/928889081274216448]] I don't know if you're quoting a song or you're on a bad acid trip. 17. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/wondrlandswift/status/928881115984809984]] It makes you want to leave the room? That's funny, I have the same reaction. 18. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/nicholetemer17/status/928849210488733697]] Yes, that word often comes up when describing Taylor Swift's music. Well, that was fun! Happy Taylor Swift Day, everyone! And make sure to keep the celebration going by checking out the weird (and hilarious) world of Taylor Swift conspiracy theories.