Anne Hathaway wasn’t sure if Taylor Swift’s latest music video was actually tied to her film “Verity,” given the Dakota Johnson connection and the similarities between the two stories.
Weeks before Hathaway and Johnson’s latest film “Verity” dropped in theaters, Swift released the music video for her song “Patient Zero” – which was a part of her “Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” release. Johnson starred in the music video and when Hathaway learned about it she wasn’t sure if it was a clever bit of publicity for “Verity” as well.
“Taylor is such a mastermind and obviously a brilliant talent and all those things, but she’s also so good at a surprise that when people were like, ‘Oh my God, is Patient Zero tied to ‘Verity,’” Hathaway said at a SiriusXM Front Row event hosted by Nicole Ryan and Ryan Sampson on SiriusXM Hits 1. “I was like, I’m a producer on the movie, and I was like, ‘Is it?’ And so I wrote Stacey like the day of the premiere, and I was like, ‘Is there something you need to tell me?’ And she’s like, ‘About what?’ I’m like, Patient Zero. And she wrote back, ‘What’s that?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re good.’”
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She added: “It’s just this weird coincidental timing. And that’s how it all worked out. But no, by the way, it’s not even a music video, it’s a short film. And Dakota is so amazing in it, and I love Taylor as a director. It was a beautiful video. And no, just thrilled for her.”
Johnson stars in the “Patient Zero” video as the wife of an abusive husband (played by Colin Farrell). Over the course of the video, she is haunted by images of Swift, her husband’s former partner. Sick for reasons she does not understand and accused of drinking too much, Johnson’s character finds herself caught up in swirl of confusion created by her toxic relationship.
It is only revealed in the music video’s closing moments that Farrell’s character has been poisoning Johnson all along, slowly gaslighting and killing her the same way he did with Swift’s departed, former heiress. The video’s story ties into the origins of “Patient Zero,” which Swift explained was inspired by a friend’s recounting of how an ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend once reached out to her for advice on her relationship.
Johnson’s connection to Swift has now led many eagle-eyed Swifties who are always on the lookout for the next Easter Egg to wonder if Hathaway is in on it too. While promoting “Verity” earlier this week, the star was spotted wearing an identical necklace to one Swift had in the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video from her Reputation era. It has fans wondering if the Reputation (Taylor’s Version) album might finally be around the corner.
“Verity” is now in theaters.
