Full List of People Taylor Swift Name-Checks in 'Tortured Poets Department'

Taylor Swift has sent fans into a frenzy by releasing her highly anticipated album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), in which she name-checks a variety of famous people.

Two hours after TTPD dropped, Swift revealed the ultimate bombshell to her legions of fans: she was releasing a secret double album. The second part is titled The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology and includes 15 extra songs. As TTPD is made up of 16 new songs, this brings the total of newly released tracks to 31.

The pop superstar is known to delve into themes of love and heartbreak with her songwriting, but she doesn't often mention people by name. However, she does allude to people in her life by making particular references that her fans aim to figure out.

That being said, the second song on the album, which is also called "The Tortured Poets Department," manages to pack in the most name-dropping that Swift ever has put in one song. It is believed that the titular track is about her brief relationship with Matty Healy, the lead singer of The 1975.

While she doesn't mention Healy by name, she does mention other people.

Newsweek emailed Swift's publicist for comment Friday.

Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith

"You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith / This ain't the Chelsea Hotel, we're modern idiots," she sings, seemingly comparing the two people in her song to the creative icons. Dylan Thomas was a poet and Patti Smith is a well-known singer.

In 2019, Patti Smith spoke about Swift when she told The New York Times: "It's unbelievable to not be able to go anywhere, do anything, have messy hair. And I'm sure that she's trying to do something good. She's not trying to do something bad. And if it influences some of her avid fans to open up their thoughts, what does it matter?"

Charlie Puth

The singer-songwriter rarely includes a first and last name in her music, but does so again in the track when she mentions the singer Charlie Puth. Puth has previously spoken about his respect for Swift and has covered some of her hits.

"You smokеd then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist," Swift says in the song.

In the year that Swift joined TikTok, she commented on one of Puth's videos, writing: "I've been quietly following your account for a long time! Thanks for the welcome, piano prince."

Jack and Lucy

Swift mentions two other names in the song and while she doesn't include their surnames, people have a theory as to who she is referring to.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're gonna screw this up with me / But you told Lucy you'd kill yourself if I ever leave / And I had said that to Jack about you, so I felt seen," she sings.

While Swift hasn't confirmed it, there is a strong chance that Jack is her frequent collaborator and friend Jack Antonoff, who has worked extensively on her recent albums. When Swift sings about Lucy, she is likely referring to Boygenius member Lucy Dacus. In May 2023, Boygenius opened Swift's Eras show in Nashville.

Other References Taylor Swift Makes

Even though Swift doesn't mention everyone she's singing about by name, she drops various hints so fans can connect the dots.

As well as the track "The Tortured Poets Department," fans have theorized that songs such as "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived", "loml", "But Daddy I Love Him", "Fresh Out the Slammer" and "My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys" are all about Healy, as well as many others. "The Black Dog," which appears on the extended version of the album, also appears to reference him.

"The Alchemy," the 15th song on TTPD, appears to be the first time that Swift has alluded to her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end.

The lyrics, "So when I touch down / Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team / Ditch the clowns, get the crown / Baby, I'm the one to beat," are just one of the many references to football in the song.

Fans quickly noted that the track "​​thanK you aIMee" is about the reality star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian as the capitalized letters in the song's title spell out the name Kim.

The lyrics speak of an "Aimee," who bullied Swift while they were at school together. "All that time you were throwin' punches, I was buildin' somethin'," she sings. "And I can't forgive the way you made me feel / Screamed 'F*** you, Aimee' to the night sky, as the blood was gushin' / But I can't forget the way you made me heal."

"I don't think you've changed much," she adds. "And so I changed your name, and any real defining clues / And one day, your kid comes home singin' / A song that only us two is gonna know is about you."

While Swift and Kardashian didn't go to school together, they have had public disagreements in the past.

It is believed that Swift references British actor Joe Alwyn—whom she dated for six years—in the song "So Long, London," as she sings, "I died on the altar waiting for the proof / You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days."