Taylor Swift is “dressing for revenge” on the scathing new track, “Vigilante S***,” from her 10th studio album, Midnights. The song, which is the only self-written track on the album, is Taylor singing directly at one of her nemeses. However, it isn’t until the second verse that jaws really drop. “She needed cold, hard proof, so I gave her some,” Taylor sings. “She had the envelope, where you thin she got it from? Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride. Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife.”
There have been plenty of people who scorned Taylor over the years, but two of them just-so-happened to go through very public divorces in the past two years: Scooter Braun and Kanye West. Kanye and Kim Kardashian split in Feb. 2021, while Scooter and Yael Cohen called it quits in July 2021. Taylor and Kim have also feuded in the past, but their issues all stemmed from Kanye. Meanwhile, Yael stood up for Scooter after Taylor publicly called him out when he bought her masters from Scott Borchetta in 2019. It’s unclear, though, whether Taylor made nice with either of these women behind the scenes.
In the bridge of “Vigilante S***,” Taylor continues to sing about the power of women uniting against a man who scorned them. “Ladies always rise above, ladies know what people want,” she croons. “Some are sweet and kind and fun, the ladies simply had enough.” She then gets specific with allegations against the unidentified subject of the song, continuing, “He was doing lines, and crossing all of mine, someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI.”
The chorus of “Vigilante S***” is all about getting revenge, which Taylor said was one of the things that has “kept her up at night” over the years, ultimately inspiring Midnights. “I don’t start s*** but I can tell you how it ends,” Taylor sings. “Don’t get sad, get even. So on the weekends, I don’t dress for friends, lately I’ve been dressing for revenge.”
In addition to this scathing song, Midnights also features 12 other brand new songs. The album was inspired by “13 sleepless nights” throughout Taylor’s life, so some of the themes and subjects touch back on years’ past. However, there are also songs, like “Lavender Haze” and “Mastermind,” that discuss her current relationship with Joe Alwyn.