Taylor Swift just wiped all her social media platforms — her Instagram is blank, her Twitter profile pic is gone, her Tumblr is empty, her YouTube channel has nothing to say, and her website is a vision in black. It's as if she's gearing up for something; don't you clean your room before you get ready to do something huge? Swift is also riding a publicity high after winning just one dollar in a legal battle with the man who allegedly groped her in 2013, former DJ David Mueller. After the trial, she donated an unspecified amount to Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization that supports survivors of sexual assault. In fact, these last two weeks have been the most Taylor Swift-heavy weeks of the year — previously, the 1989 singer had been keeping a low profile. Representation for Swift did not immediately reply to Refinery29's request for comment.
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And now, she's wiping her Instagram. Something's coming. Bubble, bubble, toil, and "I Knew You Were Trouble."
Here's everything that could be happening:
1. She's about to drop a new album, and the timing works out perfectly.
As Stereogum points out, the band Radiohead did the same thing before the album Moon Shaped Pool debuted. A clean Instagram is a great space for 360 branding — Swift can just drop all her cover art there without a worry about her posting history.
Today is also the three-year anniversary of the Shake It Off announcement, which seems oddly coincidental.
Or, she could be releasing just a single — a lone song to tease an entire album. Music journalist Kelsey McKinney pointed out on Twitter that if she released a single now, the timing would be ideal for an October rollout.
This is prime single release time for an October album.
— kelsey mckinney (@mckinneykelsey) August 18, 2017
2. She's launching a new era of Taylor Swift.
After Kim Kardashian shared incriminating audio of Swift agreeing to Kanye West's lyrics about "having sex" with Swift — even though the country singer publicly denounced the lyrics previously — she looked, well, bad. She looked flaky and inauthentic, two qualities that won't take you very far in 2017.
After the trial that ended this week, Swift said, "I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this." It sounded like an apology.
Is this the beginning of T. Swift's apology tour?
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Taylor Swift is NOT playing anymore. Her new era is upon us!
— Music News & Facts (@Musicnews_feeds) August 18, 2017
She is coming for blood! pic.twitter.com/bdRivc7Jw8
3. She was hacked.
If HBO can be hacked, so can Taylor Swift. The hackers can use her now-empty social platforms to share, well, anything. The scrubbing of her channels certainly has the attention of Swift fans.
me trying to understand if Taylor Swift has been hacked or will break the internet with a comeback #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/Lgu9j1DMf3
— witnessingkaty?? (@therealcix) August 18, 2017
4. She will appear on Good Morning America.
The slate for the show's August 19 episode is now empty, as per a screenshot from a savvy Twitter user. Does this mean T. Swift will appear in an interview?
Taylor Swift will be on @GMA pic.twitter.com/t8bnjyaMAN
— Dale (@DaleSwifty) August 18, 2017
5. She's going to appear at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.
The VMAs are exactly nine days away, and Swift's rival Katy Perry will be hosting. Seems like an opportune time to bury the hatchet, especially because Perry has been so vocal about wanting to end the feud.
6. She's a new member of the Illuminati.
Because it's at least 0.000001% possible.
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