Taylor Swift reveals Father Figure meaning after The Life of a Showgirl release

13 October 2025, 10:24

Taylor Swift fangirls over Emma Bunton and reveals her hen do plans!

By Hope Wilson

Who is Taylor Swift's song 'Father Figure' about? Olivia Rodrigo, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta theories revealed.

Loading audio...

Taylor Swift has revealed the meaning behind her song 'Father Figure', after many fans speculated the lyrics may have been about Scooter Braun, Olivia Rodrigo or Scott Borchetta.

Following the release of her album 'The Life of a Showgirl', the 'Fate of Ophelia' singer has opened up about her song writing process and explained why she penned her new tunes.

Whilst her songs 'Opalite', 'Wood', 'Cancelled!', 'Ruin the Friendship', 'Actually Romantic', 'Wi$h Li$t' and 'Elizabeth Taylor' have gone down a storm, one strack in particular has gained a lot of attention online, with 'Father Figure' appearing to allude to Taylor's relationships with her former peers.

Now the singer has come to out reveal what her song really means, giving fans an insight into who the tune may be about.

Listen to Heart on Global Player, the official Heart app

Speaking about the meaning behind 'Father Figure', Taylor said: "A young ingénue and their mentor and the way that relationship can change over time and betrayal, and wit, and cunning and cleverness, and strategy, and essentially it ends up in a who’s gonna win situation, who’s gonna outfox the other?"

Taylor Swift has spoken about her song 'Father Figure'. Picture: Getty

She continued: "And I love that song because I can relate to both characters in certain parts of the song. So it was really amazing reaching out to George Michael’s estate. We reached out his close family friend and his family and just made sure that everything was okay before we did anything.

"So it was amazing to have the okay to keep them in the mix and keep them abreast of everything that was going on because I know how sacred songwriting is and it’s really important to just make sure that you honour that when someone else has written something so brilliant."

Read more: Taylor Swift reveals plans for her new era as Life of a Showgirl drops
Read more: Taylor Swift fangirls over Spice Girl Emma Bunton in sweet interview
Read more: Taylor Swift reveals how Travis Kelce relationship has changed her music

The Life of a Showgirl has been released. Picture: Instagram/Taylor Swift

Taking to X, formally known as Twitter, many fans discussed their theories behind who Taylor may be speaking about in the song.

One user wrote: "Was father figure a diss towards Olivia Rodrigo? Because it sounds like it is."

Another penned: "i feel like in father figure she’s roleplaying the men like scooter and scott"

While a third commented: "father figure is 100% about olivia, jesus"

Read more: Watch Taylor Swift's full interview on Heart Breakfast here
Read more: Taylor Swift reveals engagement details and shares bachelorette party plans
Read more: Inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship: From how they met to engagement

Other fans believe the song is about Olivia Rodrigo. Picture: Instagram/Taylor Swift

Many believe 'Father Figure' is about Taylor's old manager Scooter Braun and her former label Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta. This comes after the Steve sold Taylor's masters to Scooter in 2019, causing multitude of issues which eventually led to Taylor buying back her masters.

The lyrics state: "I'll be your father figure / I drink that brown liquor I can make deals with the devil because my d***'s bigger / This love is pure profit / Just step into my office / I dry your tears with my sleeve."

Many believe this is directly about the two men, however Taylor herself has not confirmed the rumours.

Read more: Taylor Swift's albums ranked
Read more: Taylor Swift singing her first song 'Lucky You' aged 13, before anyone knew her name
Read more: Taylor Swift's heartfelt speech at Selena Gomez's wedding revealed

Some fans think Taylor Swift's song is about Scott Borchetta. Picture: Getty

Others believe the tune could be about Taylor's former friend Olivia Rodrigo, after it was speculated the pair fell out after Olivia retroactively credited Taylor on her song 'Deja Vu' following a dispute.

Again, Taylor has not confirmed if the song is about Olivia so we will have to wait and see if she reveals who the individual is.