There’s a new Taylor Swift video out today, and this one has something particularly awesome going for it — a trans actor as the love interest.
“Lavender Haze” is the third music video released from Swift’s most recent album, Midnights, while the track itself is the first on the album.
“This was the first video I wrote out of the 3 that have been released, and this one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights, like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream,” she wrote.
In the song, Swift waxes on about wanting to ignore the world around her and its demands and speculations, to instead focus on the “love spiral” she’s falling into — something visually echoed in a party scene in which she and her boyfriend appear to be in their own world despite all the friends surrounding them.
\u201cThe Lavender Haze video is out now. There is lots of lavender. There is lots of haze. There is my incredible costar @laith_ashley who I absolutely adored working with.\n\nhttps://t.co/auFTSVBP0A\u201d— Taylor Swift (@Taylor Swift) 1674795974
That boyfriend is played by actor, singer, and model Laith Ashley, who has made waves in recent years after breaking onto the scene.
“Still at a loss for words,” he wrote following the midnight release of the music video. “Trying to gather myself and my thoughts. I am so grateful.”
\u201cStill at a loss for words. Trying to gather myself and my thoughts. I am so grateful. Thank you @taylorswift13\u201d— Laith Ashley De La Cruz (@Laith Ashley De La Cruz) 1674807694
Although the video mostly revolves around Swift herself, the casual inclusion of a man who happened to be trans meant a lot to people, particularly in the current political and social climate.
\u201cThe love interest in Taylor Swift\u2019s new Lavender Haze music video is trans model and artist Laith Ashley. At a time when trans rights are increasingly under attack, this representation is major.\u201d— Ashley Spencer (@Ashley Spencer) 1674797419
\u201clike the media does not see us as people yet unless they can make a spectacle of it but she does \ud83d\ude2d the bar is on the floor but i didn't put it there let me have this\u201d— ash \u2728 (@ash \u2728) 1674739592
\u201cTaylor casting a trans man as her love interest in her new music video and featuring his top surgery scars \ud83e\udd0d\ud83e\udd0d\ud83e\udd0d\ud83e\udd0d I love the way the traditional male gaze evolves when a female director is in charge.\u201d— carina adly mackenzie (@carina adly mackenzie) 1674796170
\u201cthe dude in taylor swift's new music video for lavender haze is laith ashley who is trans and that is very fucking cool to me\u201d— christina orlando \ud83c\udf19 (@christina orlando \ud83c\udf19) 1674797690
You can check out the video for yourself below!
