The 10 Best Throwback Pics From Taylor Swift's Reputation Era
In 2016, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West claimed that Taylor Swift approved the now-infamous crass lyric about her in West's song "Famous." They painted the situation to look like Swift was lying about not knowing. A social media firestorm followed, boosted by Kardashian tweeting, "Wait it's legit National Snake Day?!?!? They have holidays for everybody, I mean everything these days!" (via X, formerly Twitter). The tweet accompanied snake emojis, which critics began commenting on Swift's own social media accounts.
That drama with Kardashian and West hurt Swift more than anyone ever knew, but she reclaimed the snake imagery the following year. In August 2017, Swift wiped her Instagram and Tumblr accounts clean. She also removed the profile photo on her Facebook and X accounts. Then, she shared three snake videos, leading up to the announcement of a new album: "Reputation."
The album touches on themes of betrayal and alludes to Swift's feelings on Kardashian and West. It also chronicles some of Swift's past relationships, primarily her relationship with her boyfriend at the time of the album's release, Joe Alwyn. "Reputation" is one of Swift's most popular albums, and it sparked the creation of the phrase "reputation era" to refer to a time when someone is knocked down, only to reinvent themselves and return with a new confidence. It also seemed to be the first time the word "era" was used to reference the aesthetic and release period of a Swift album, which eventually culminated in her Eras Tour. The "Reputation" era was definitely one of Swift's most iconic, as seen in photos taken during this time period.
Swift's cat was purr-fect promotion
No matter how famous Taylor Swift gets, her cats will be right alongside her. The day before "Reputation" released, Swift and one of her cats, Olivia Benson, posed for a wide-eyed selfie. "Waiting for #reputation like ... " Swift wrote in the caption on Instagram.
Olivia made for quite possibly the cutest album promotion of all time. She and her feline sister, Meredith Grey, even got name-dropped in the "Reputation" song "Gorgeous," where Swift sings, "Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats alone / Unless you wanna come along."
Two other powerful performers opened for Swift on tour
Three pop stars are better than one. For the Reputation Stadium Tour, Taylor Swift's opening acts were Camila Cabello and Charli XCX. Prior to Cabello exiting the tour, Swift shared group selfies with them on Instagram and said, "Last night of tour with these 2 dream girls — we love you Baby C."
Cabello and Charli's music careers have continued to flourish in the years since. Looking back, those selfies are nothing short of iconic due to the combined musical talent all together.
Swift toured with a big snake
The snake imagery of the "Reputation" album continued for the Reputation Stadium Tour, with the introduction of Karyn — a fake cobra that inflated onstage when Taylor Swift sang "Look What You Made Me Do." Karyn was featured at the American Music Awards in 2018 when Swift sang "I Did Something Bad" as well, the cobra's eyes glowing as she rose high above the stage.
The above photo from that AMAs performance shows just how big Karyn is. What could be more iconic than a serpentine backup dancer like her?
Did Swift foreshadow 'Lover' while touring 'Reputation'?
Taylor Swift had multiple different outfits for the Reputation Stadium Tour shows. For the portion of the show where she sang the songs "Delicate" and "Shake It Off," Swift sometimes wore a colorful striped dress in rainbow colors with fringe.
Looking back, it's hard not to see that was one of Swift's Easter eggs for the "Lover" album, which she released two years after "Reputation" in 2019. It wouldn't be the first time she hinted at a future move — remember her social media snake videos?
Meredith Grey the cat was featured in another of Swift's selfies
One of Taylor Swift's gorgeous makeup-free snapshots was another cat selfie from the "Reputation" era. "Just over here daydreaming about playing Manchester tomorrow ... " Swift wrote on Instagram with a pink hearts emoji.
This time, the featured cat was Meredith Grey. The cat's resting face looked almost like a grimace. That would make sense based on a video Swift shared in 2021, when the singer explained, "The truth is, Meredith just HATES having her picture taken."
Swift received roses from a hugely popular band
Not everyone receives flowers from one of the world's most popular musical acts. Of course, not everyone is Taylor Swift. "Walked into my dressing room to find roses from @U2 and I WAS NOT READY FOR IT," Swift wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of roses and a handwritten note: "From your Irish fan club ... Bono, The Edge, Adam & Larry."
The flowers were a gift before Swift's first Reputation Stadium Tour show in Dublin, Ireland. Although U2 didn't get onstage with Swift, something special happened at the second Dublin show.
A time-honored tradition returned during the 'Reputation' era
For the June 16, 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour show in Dublin, Taylor Swift brought back something she used to do during the "Fearless" and "Speak Now" tours: she had her mom, Andrea Swift, draw a 13 on her hand. 13 is Swift's lucky number, and in a video on Instagram, Swift explained why she was bringing the tradition back.
"It's the thirteenth show of the Reputation Stadium Tour," Swift explained. She also complimented Andrea's artistic abilities.
Swift's then-boyfriend subtly showed that they were in the same place
Taylor Swift's former boyfriend Joe Alwyn had a private Instagram account until August 2018. When he made the switch to a public account, fans noticed that he had shared a photo next to a cactus on May 8, 2018. It was nearly identical to a photo with a cactus that Swift had shared that same day.
Swift and Alwyn's relationship was a major touchstone of the "Reputation" era. However, they weren't forthcoming with relationship details, based on an agreement the former couple made.
Swift and a longtime friend rocked the stage together
Taylor Swift had a few special guests join her onstage for the Reputation Stadium Tour. At a May 2019 show in Pasadena, California, Swift and her friend Selena Gomez gave an electric performance of Gomez's song "Hands To Myself."
Prior to Gomez joining her onstage, Swift said, "This is one of the realest and the truest of the friends that I've ever had in my entire life" (via YouTube). The crowd went wild for their duet.
A new year meant the end of an era
While ringing in 2019, Taylor Swift and her friends had a costume party. "This new year we decided to dress up as our childhood heroes," Swift said on Instagram. Swift opted to dress up as Ariel from "The Little Mermaid," a Disney movie that released in 1989 — another number important to Swift, since it was the year she was born and the name of her fifth album.
That was one of the last posts Swift made in her "Reputation" era, since she seemingly switched to a "Lover" aesthetic that February.