Taylor Swift’s ‘Slut!’ Lyrics: These Clues Scream Harry Styles

Who are Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics about?

Who are Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics about? The main theory is that Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics are about her relationship with Harry Styles and the slut-shaming she faced for dating him, as well as her general dating history, at the time. Taylor and Harry dated from November 2012 to January 2013. Read on for the clues that support Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics being about Harry Styles.

Flamingo pink, Sunrise Boulevard / Clink, clink, being this young is art / Aquamarine, moonlit swimmin’ pool / What if all I need is you?

• While Taylor and Harry have never been photographed at The Beverly Hills Hotel, this lyric is likely about the celebrity-favorite luxury hotel, which is located on Sunset Boulevard. The hotel is known for its late-night pool, which Katharine Hepburn once did a backflip into, and signature pink exterior. 

Everyone wants him, that was my crime / The wrong place at the right time

• Harry was considered one of Hollywood’s most popular celebrity crushes at the time he and Taylor dated. They met in March 2012 at the Kid’s Choice Awards and were first linked in November 2012 when Harry visited Taylor at her rehearsal for The X Factor US. 

In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman

• Harry is best known as a member of the boy band One Direction.

In the tangerine, neon light, this is luxury

• While this could also be referring to the actual tangerine color, Harry did go viral in August 2013 after he was seen eating an orange at the MTV Video Music Awards.

What are Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics about? 

Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics are about how she was called a slut and was criticized for dating someone, who’s speculated to be Harry Styles, but didn’t care because the relationship was worth it. “And if they call me a slut / You know it might be worth it for once / And if I’m gonna be drunk I might as well be drunk in love,” she sings in the chorus. 

In the pre-chorus of “Slut!”, Taylor also sings about she’s the one who’s more likely to face the consequences of the relationship than her partner. “Lovelorn and nobody knows /  Love thorns all over this rose / I’ll pay the price, you won’t,” she sings. She also seemed to sing in the bridge about how dating her is a risk because of her reputation. “Half awake, takin’ your chances / It’s a big mistake, I said, “It might blow up in your pretty face” / I’m not saying, “Do it anyway” / But you’re going to,” she sings.

Taylor addressed the slut-shaming at the time she recorded her fifth album  in the prologue for 1989 Taylor’s Version. “You see, in the years preceding this, I had become the target of slut shaming—the intensity and relentlessness of which would be criticized and called out if it happened today. The jokes about my amount of boyfriends,” she said. “The trivialization of my songwriting as if it were a predatory act of a boy crash psychopath. The media co-signing of the narrative. I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt.”

She continued, “It became clear to me that for me, there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with. If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him, and so I swore off hanging out with guys. Dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian era.”

She went on to explain how even her friendships with women, such as Karlie Kloss, sparked dating rumors. “Being a consummate optimist, I assumed I could fix this if I simply changed my behavior,” she wrote. “I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships. If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that, right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.”

Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics

Read Taylor Swift’s “Slut!” lyrics via Genius ahead. 

[Verse 1]

Flamingo pink, Sunrise Boulevard

Clink, clink, being this young is art

Aquamarine, moonlit swimmin’ pool

What if all I need is you?

[Pre-Chorus]

Got love-struck, went straight to my head

Got lovesick all over my bed

Love to think you’ll never forget

Handprints in wet cement

Adorned with smoke on my clothes

Lovelorn and nobody knows

Love thorns all over this rose

I’ll pay the price, you won’t

[Chorus]

But if I’m all dressed up

They might as well be lookin’ at us

And if they call me a slut

You know it might be worth it for once

And if I’m gonna be drunk

I might as well be drunk in love

[Verse 2]

Send the code, he’s waitin’ there

The sticks and stones they throw froze mid-air

Everyone wants him, that was my crime

The wrong place at the right time

And I break down, then he’s pullin’ me in

In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman

[Pre-Chorus]

Got love-struck, went straight to my head (Straight to my head)

Got lovesick all over my bed (Over my bed)

Love to think you’ll never forget

We’ll pay the price, I guess

[Chorus]

But if I’m all dressed up (If I’m all dressed up)

They might as well be lookin’ at us (Lookin’ at us)

And if they call me a slut (If they call me a slut)

You know it might be worth it for once (Worth it for once)

And if I’m gonna be drunk

I might as well be drunk in love

[Bridge]

Half asleep, takin’ your time

In the tangerine, neon light, this is luxury

You’re not sayin’ you’re in love with me

But you’re going to

Half awake, takin’ your chances

It’s a big mistake, I said, “It might blow up in your pretty face”

I’m not saying, “Do it anyway” (Do it anyway)

But you’re going to

[Outro]

(Up)

And if they call me a (Slut)

You know it might be worth it for once

And if I’m gonna be (Drunk)

I might as well be drunk in love