Though Taylor Swift may rarely call out the subject of her songs by name, fans often can tell who they’re about by way of context clues and Easter eggs. And many of the songs on her latest album The Life of a Showgirl say what needs to be said, without saying too much.
One of the buzziest songs on the album is the George Michael-interpolating “Father Figure,” which contains some of the most provocative lyrics Swift has written.
“I'll be your father figure / I drink that brown liquor I can make deals with the devil because my d**k's bigger / This love is pure profit / Just step into my office / I dry your tears with my sleeve,” she sings on the song’s chorus. These punchy lines feature Swift establishing dominance, but over whom is the question.
Some fans seem to think she is talking about Scooter Braun, who became persona non grata with the Swifties after he purchased the master recordings to her first six albums back in 2019 from Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta. Braun later sold the masters to Shamrock Holdings and Swift purchased them, earlier this year, thus finally owning the rights to those albums for the first time in her career.
“father figure once again proving my theory that she will whack scooter & scott until the end of time so they can never pretend like things have smoothed over between them,” wrote one fan on X.
“i feel like in father figure she’s roleplaying the men like scooter and scott,” wrote another.
Another theory that has the Swifties in a frenzy is the idea that the song is actually about singer Olivia Rodrigo. In the early stages of Rodrigo’s music career, the “Obsessed” hitmaker often cited Swift as an inspiration. However, the two were rumored to have fallen out after Rodrigo retroactively credited Swift as a writer on “Deja Vu” — which sounds similar to Swift’s own song, “Cruel Summer.”
“father figure is 100% about olivia, jesus,” wrote one fan on X.
“Was father figure a diss towards Olivia Rodrigo?” asked another. “Because it sounds like it is.”
Though Swift will likely never reveal the truth, fans can listen and guess for themselves, as The Life of a Showgirl is finally out on streaming platforms.