Taylor Swiftjust released her new albumMidnightson October 21, and it’s already a record-breaking success.Midnightshas earned widespread acclaimfrom professional critics and casual fans alike, with many praising its first single, “Anti-Hero,” as one of Swift’s best songs to date.
Anti-Hero is one of 13 tracks on the standard edition ofMidnights. The song is mostly aboutTaylor Swift’s insecurities and anxieties in life on both a personal level (“I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”) and a hypothetical one (“I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money”). While most fans have responded well to Anti-Hero, one lyric in the song has left some scratching their heads, particularly among the Swift’s younger supporters.
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The lyric in question is “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby,” which has confused those that don’t know what Swift means by the term “sexy baby.” Some are taking the lyric literally, but it clearly isn’t meant to be taken that way. The subsequent lyrics are “And I’m a monster on the hill/Too big to hang out” which can be interpreted in a number of ways. One common interpretation is that Swift is expressing insecurity about her age, but beyond that, it’s been generally accepted that the lyric is actually a reference to theaward-winning Tina Fey sitcom30 Rockthat originally aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013.
In the episode “TGS Hates Women” (Season 5, Episode 16), theSaturday Night Live-styleTGS with Tracy Jordanhires a new female writer who protagonist Liz Lemon accuses of acting like a “sexy baby” to seduce men. She purposefully acts dumb and talks in a high-pitched, childish voice. Considering this, it’s possible that Swift is meaning that others are acting in a certain way or putting on a show to appeal to others.
Taylor Swift is not shy about referencing her real-life relationships, feuds, and more in her lyrics, and that fact makes it even likelier that the “sexy baby” line is a30 Rockreference. As some may recall, there once was some bad blood between Swift and30 Rockcreator Tina Fey after Fey and her comedy partner Amy Poehler made jokes about Swift’s love life at theGolden Globes. In response to the jokes, Swift said toVanity Fair, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”
Swift and Poehler presented together at theGolden Globesin 2020, seemingly patching things up, though it’s unclear if there is still some friction between Swift and Fey. It’s possible this line is meant as a knock on Fey, but it’s also possible that it’s just an Easter egg for fans who are aware of the situation between the singer and the comedian. Perhaps Swift will offer some deeper insight into the Anti-Hero lyrics one day, but for now, the best explanation is that the “sexy baby” line is a30 Rockreference.
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