The villainous version of Taylor Swift came out to play in her "Look What You Made Me Do" video. However, long before the first single off the pop star's Reputation was released, Swift was apparently inspiring one of the baddest villains of 2017.
In an interview with Bustle, Sylvia Hoeks, who portrays replicant enforcer Luv in Blade Runner 2049, admitted that she drew inspiration from Swift in order to craft the murderous robot's persona.
However, before you think Hoeks was throwing shade at Swift, what she took from the 1989 mogul's life actually has to do with her strict sense of control than Swift's alleged "snake-like" tendencies.
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"I looked at big celebrities, big singers, who are younger girls, like Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez," the actress explained to Bustle. "[These people] who have big platforms and have to have certain control in their life, because every little second of their day is probably somebody making a picture of them or putting them in the media. So their whole life kind of happens virtually."
In Blade Runner 2049, Luv is controlled by Jared Leto's Niander Wallace, the man who, technically, gave her life. While I like to think that Swift has way more agency than Luv does in the film, the metaphor makes sense: How might Swift behave publicly if she wasn't, at least somewhat, concerned about her reputation or keeping certain aspects of her life private?
Consider what Lorde said in The Guardian about her friendship with the "Blank Space" singer. Though she came under fire for comparing her relationship with Swift to having a friend with "allergies," what she is referring to is the fact that she can't walk down the street with her BFF without being mobbed by fans.
"[There are] certain things you can't do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship. It's like having a friend with an autoimmune disease."
Spending time in the virtual world — like Hoeks suggests Swift and stars like her do — actually is a little easier. There's simply more control.
Swift may not be a replicant (unless she has something else she wants to confess on Reputation?) but she does lean into her online life. She recently slid into fans' social media accounts to leave cute comments.