Taylor Swift’s ‘Patient Zero’ music video has an eerie twist

Caroline DarneyFor The Win
Sept. 27, 2026, 9:43 p.m. ET

Taylor Swift dropped four new songs this week, releasing The Life Of A Showgirl: The Encore on Friday. The surprise bonus disc included Swift’s newest single, “Patient Zero,” along with “Cleveland!” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.” At the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, the 14-time Grammy winner premiered the music video for “Patient Zero.”

Thanks to a sneak peak earlier this week, we knew that Dakota Johnson (Verity) and Colin Farrell (The Penguin) starred in her newest video. Johnson was on hand at the VMAs to present Swift with the inaugural Artist Director Honor award. Swift wrote and directed 18 of her own music videos, including “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Opalite” and “Patient Zero” from The Life Of A Showgirl.

Check out the full video on Spotify and Apple Music now.

The video shows a couple — Johnson and Farrell — navigating their tumultuous relationship as Swift lingers as the person that had lived through the same issues. But there’s a twist you have to watch to see.

Sunday night’s honor made Swift the most awarded artist in VMA history with 31.