When Taylor Swift performs, it’s safe to assume that everything is done with intention, from the exact words in her lyrics to the gestures in her choreography.
The singer took the stage in Paris this week as part of her Eras Tour and performed “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” live for the first time on Thursday, May 9. The song, widely assumed to be about her ex Matty Healy, is one of the most popular tracks on her album The Tortured Poets Department, which came out last month.
Some observant Swift fans watched her choreography closely and saw what they interpreted as shots at Healy, 35, during the performance.
Swift, 34, could be seen marching then doing a salute during the song. Healy has done both while performing “Love It If We Made It” as a member of The 1975.
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Videos of Swift’s moves hit TikTok almost instantly, with fans confirming each other’s observations.
“I gasped when i saw it!!” one user wrote.
“I immediately caught that. Such a DIRECT call out. He does it every performance of [‘Love It If We Made It’],” added another.
If the Swifites are right, then it seemingly confirms that “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” is, in fact, about Healy. The 1975 frontman has been open about his short stature, telling The Fader in 2018, “Everyone in [The 1975] is 6-foot-4 and I’m 5-foot-10, so everyone thinks that I’m 5-foot-5.”
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In addition, Swift opens the song with the lyrics, “Was any of it true? / Gazing at me starry-eyed / In your Jehovah’s Witness suit.” Healy’s standard close-cut suit and tie has drawn comparisons to the popular look sported by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“YES FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT,” another fan wrote of Swift’s choreography. “I’m sure Matty will know about this song now.”
As fans take a renewed interest in the ill-fated relationship between Swift and Healy, an insider revealed in the latest issue of Us Weekly that Healy has not been happy about it.
“Matty’s uncomfortable with the renewed attention on his relationship [with Taylor] — especially because he’s [with someone] new,” the insider said.
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Healy began dating model Gabbriette Bechtel in September 2023.
“Matty has struggled with life in the public eye, and he’s been doing really well, but the last thing that he needs is for every Swiftie in the world to think he’s a villain,” the source added.
Healy himself hasn’t commented on the specifics of the song — or the choreography — but he did offer a one-liner to Entertainment Tonight about the album.
“I haven’t really listened to that much of it, but I’m sure it’s good,” he said.
