​Did Taylor Swift Just Sample 'Mean Girls' in Her New Song?

I think she just pulled another Regina George on Katy Perry

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Aug 25, 2017

Taylor Swift has everyone talking about her new single "Look What You Made Me Do," and the pop star's return to music hears her throwing some serious shade. So it only makes sense that she'd rip a sample from the burn book bible — Mean Girls.
 
One ridiculously astute Swift fan has pointed out that in addition to the chorus of "Look What You Made Me Do" mimicking Right Said Fred, the beat throughout the verses appears to sample "Operate" by Peaches — which plays during the Halloween party scene in Mean Girls.
 
And while it could just be an homage to the Tina Fey-penned cult classic, most people have interpreted it as a slight against Swift's long-time rival Katy Perry.
 
Back in 2014, Perry called Swift out for being a "Regina George in sheep's clothing" — referencing Rachel McAdams' performance as the leader of Mean Girls' titular clique.
   
Perry seems to have reinforced the analogy in her latest single "Swish Swish," dropping the line: "A tiger don't need opinions from a shellfish or a sheep" — and then really driving home the point with a video that sees rival basketball teams the Tigers and the Sheep facing off. Adding insult to injury, Nicki Minaj is a featured guest on the track and in the video — and she has her own heated history with Swift.
 
Half an hour after Swift dropped "Look What You Made Me Do," Minaj sent out a cryptic tweet warning an unnamed person to "Be humble." She has yet to elaborate on who the tweet was aimed at, but many are guessing Swift's dramatic single rollout may well be the target.
Swift, meanwhile, is widely believed to have recently dissed Perry by returning her back catalogue to streaming services on the same day that Perry dropped her latest album Witness.
 
Of course, this is hardly a recent feud. The pair have been portrayed as at odds with each other for years. Frequently running into each other at awards shows (and sharing an ex in John Mayer), Swift made the feud public in 2015 when she told Rolling Stone about an unnamed female singer who had done her wrong, saying: "She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?'"
 
"Bad Blood" from 1989 is widely believed to be about Perry. It's also worth noting that many fans have drawn parallels between Swift's video for "Bad Blood" and Perry's for "Swish Swish."

So much for being "ready to let it go."
 
Listen to the apparent Mean Girls­-sampling "Look What You Made Me Do" below. Swift's sixth album, Reputation, is due out on November 10. Before it drops, dive into her back catalogue via Umusic.
 

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