A Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Taylor Swift during Tuesday's April 13, 2021 Show. Photo: Best Possible Screen Grab/CBS 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Earlier Tuesday, “A Late Show With Stephen Colbert” released a teaser video from Taylor Swift’s special appearance on the episode. A pure comedy segment, the bit focused on the idea that her “Hey Stephen” might have been written about Colbert. Swift denied the claim, only to reveal an inspirational “mood board” that contained numerous pictures of the “Late Show” host.
The full segment aired Tuesday night, and it leaned even harder into the joke about “Hey Stephen” being a tribute to Colbert. Swift repeatedly disputed the notion, while comedically revealing the excessive amount of details she knew about the comedian. She ultimately, jokingly, revealed that the song was written about Stephen King — and closed the interview by “answering a call” from the Master of Horror.
Knowing her propensity to drop hints and “Easter eggs” about her future plans, many Swift fans are closely scrutinizing the specific words and references she made during the interview. Everything, from Swift’s nods to her 2014 album “1989” (and single “Shake It Off”), to some of the specific details she shared about Colbert, to her Stephen King references (including a collection of short stories that came out in 1989 and use of the word “luminescent” to describe his work) is receiving ample Swiftie analysis.
The full video is available below: