- Ryan Reynolds released a commercial featuring Taylor Swift's new recording of early hit "Love Story"—and fans think it makes reference to Swift's conflict with Scooter Braun.
- Braun recently purchased and resold Swift's master recordings of her first six albums against her will, resulting in a public dispute between the two.
- Reynolds is a close friend of Swift, and fans think he hid a subtle dig at Braun in his commercial.
Don't you love a bit of detective work of a Thursday morning? (Or, in this case, reviewing the solid detective work performed by others?) Taylor Swift's highly attentive fanbase have a new and compelling theory, as People reports: that Ryan Reynolds made a subtle dig at Scooter Braun, who's embroiled in an ongoing conflict with Swift over his purchase and subsequent sale of her masters, in his latest commercial.
Let's unpack: On Thursday, Ryan Reynolds released a new ad for Match, which appropriately depicts the charming love story between Satan and (a person named) 2020. The commercial, Swift subsequently confirmed on Twitter, is soundtracked by a new recording of one of her earliest hits, "Love Story."
Swift is in the process of re-recording her first six albums, after celebrity manager Braun purchased then resold the master recordings for a reported $300 million. And since Swift is close friends with both Ryan Reynolds and wife Blake Lively, it makes sense that she'd allow Reynolds to use a sneak peek of her first re-record in his commercial.
In the commercial, Satan and 2020 pose for a selfie in front of a dumpster fire—again, an accurate representation of the past year. Here's where fans detected the Braun reference: In the background, next to another dumpster, a discarded scooter lies on the floor. Get it? Scooter? What's more, painted on the wall behind the scooter is the number 6—as in the six albums Swift is currently re-recording. Thus, the hypothesis: Either Ryan Reynolds inserted a reference to Scooter Braun in a commercial about the chaos and misery of 2020, as an apparent show of support for Taylor Swift, or Reynolds and Swift teamed up on the commercial to make a joint dig at Braun.
Swift's fans expressed delight at the reference on Twitter: "Dude—that abandoned scooter in the commercial's dumpster fire scene was... *chef's kiss*," one tweeted at Reynolds. "Ryan Reynolds having them put a scooter next to a dumpster while Taylor Swift plays into the background of the new Match commercial is my favorite part of 2020," another wrote. Awaiting Braun's response via subway ad for Tinder!