The pop star's husband joined her on set to support her behind the director's chair.
Taylor Swift, "Patient Zero" Spotify/Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift‘s music video for “Patient Zero” deals with some pretty dark topics, including but not limited to uxoricide. But on set, it was one big love fest, with the pop star seemingly having a blast filming alongside bestie Dakota Johnson and cuddling up with husband Travis Kelce between takes.
In a new behind-the-scenes reel uploaded to Spotify on Tuesday (Oct. 13), fans get a deeper look at how Swift brought her vision to life with the self-directed visual while accompanied by some of her favorite people. The 14-time Grammy winner plays the ghost ex-wife of Colin Farrell’s character, who ensnares Johnson’s character in a sinister romance before she discovers that he was the one who killed Swift’s character.
But while many of the scenes demanded Johnson to act serious without letting on that she could sense Swift’s character in the room with her, the two women couldn’t help but make each other laugh. At one point, the pair crack up while lying in the same bed, and later, the Eras headliner knocks a cup off a sink, making the Fifty Shades of Grey actress break character.
During one sequence, Swift sits in her director’s chair with Kelce standing behind her, smiling and laughing with his hands lovingly holding her arms.
The new clips also show how Swift interacted with the rest of the cast and crew on set, continuously checking how the shots looked on a monitor. Cara Delevingne and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford — who both made surprise cameos in “Patient Zero” — are also all smiles between takes of the climactic party scene.
“Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time, and we’re very close,” Johnson told Fan Girl Nation in September. “Normally, I would say don’t work with your friends. But we work really well together.”
“Patient Zero” dropped on Sept. 25 as one of four bonus tracks to The Life of a Showgirl, which has added two more weeks so far to its initial 12-week run atop the Billboard 200 in 2025 since the release of the Encore deluxe. Two days after the song arrived, Johnson accompanied Swift to the VMAs, where the hitmaker accepted both video of the year for “The Fate of Ophelia” and the first-ever artist director honors. She also premiered the “Patient Zero” video.
Soon after that, “Patient Zero” became Swift’s 16th career No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Watch the behind-the-scenes “So Let’s Get Into It” version of Swift’s “Patient Zero” music video below.
