2 min readTHE RUNDOWN
- Taylor Swift premiered her new “Patient Zero” music video during the VMAs tonight.
- The visuals co-star Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.
- Swift revealed where to watch the video online, as it’s not on YouTube yet.
Taylor Swift gave the MTV VMAs a gift this evening, premiering the music video for her single “Patient Zero” during the show. Co-starring Swift, Dakota Johnson, and Colin Farrell, the music video depicts Swift as the dead ex of Johnson’s husband, played by Farrell. Swift’s ghost follows Johnson and ultimately warns her that Farrell is trying to kill her the way he did Swift.
Taylor Nation shared a clip of the video after it premiered during the awards ceremony. Swift then revealed where fans can view the full video. It’s currently available to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music subscribers.
Lyrically, “Patient Zero” is also Swift’s warning to the new love interest of a toxic ex about his behavior. Swift shared the inspiration for the track in a statement with Capital FM on Friday, revealing it was actually based on a friend’s experience.
“The story behind me writing the song ‘Patient Zero’ is that I was hanging out with a bunch of friends, and one of my friends told us that she had been reached out to by the new girlfriend of an ex of hers, asking for guidance about whether she had had the same experiences with this guy,” she recalled. “Everyone in our group just immediately started saying like, ‘Oh, I’ve been through that too,’ and telling the stories of when this kind of reach-out had happened for them.”
Swift just released The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore on Friday, which includes three other new tracks: “Pink Clouding,” “Babylon,” and “Cleveland!”.
On Thursday, Johnson spoke about working with Swift on “Patient Zero.”
“Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time, and we’re very close,” she told Fan Girl Nation. “And we decided to work together, and it’s great. Normally, I would say don’t work with your friends. But we work really well together, so…”
In April, Swift wrote Johnson’s profile for Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026, shedding some light on what Johnson is like offscreen. She wrote of the actress, “As her friend, I can vouch for her realness, but add that she’s also one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever known. And maybe it’s true that she can’t lie. But I’ll tell you a few more things she can’t do. She can’t stop asking people questions about their lives, endlessly curious about everyone else’s human experience. She can’t stop challenging herself, taking newer and bolder risks like building her production company TeaTime Pictures. She can’t stop exploring the most intricate relationship complexities like in last year’s Splitsville and Materialists. Captivating in front of the screen and inquisitive behind it, her unfailing truthfulness helps to shape her ever-evolving storytelling into art that feels as real and timeless as she is. She comes by it honestly.”