Taylor Swift – You Need to Calm Down

Drew’s style is very eccentric and quirky and kitschy in the best way possible, so we wanted it to be…
Music Video

2019 MTV VMA Music Video of the Year

Drew Kirsch for Taylor Swift – You Need to Calm Down

Drew Kirsch for Taylor Swift / Lover

Music Videos

Drew Kirsch for YG / “Scared Money”

Music Video

Directed By

Drew KirschTaylor Swift

Music by

Taylor SwiftJoel Little

Set Decoration by

Haley Appell

Film Editing by

Jarrett Fijal

Produced by

Todrick HallTara RazaviFuliane PetikyanTaylor Swift

Casting by

Tarek Antoine El Kik

Second Unit Director

Jeremy Nachbar

Art Direction by

Zachary B Friedman

Cinematography by

Pau Castejón

Production Design by

Brittany Porter

Art Department

Vinod KrishnanLeone ReevesJake TremblayNina Wussow

Sound Department

Serbian GhanaJohn HanesJoel Little

Drew’s style is very eccentric and quirky and kitschy in the best way possible, so we wanted it to be real.

Taylor Swift

Bursting with color and doubling as an LGBTQ call to action, Taylor Swift‘s video for “You Need to Calm Down” — complete with cameos from Ellen DeGeneres, Todrick Hall, Laverne Cox, the cast of Queer Eye, alumni from RuPaul’s Drag Race and many more — has garnered 67 million views since its mid-June release. The extravaganza was co-directed by Swift and first-time collaborator Drew Kirsch, a Los Angeles-based director whose pedigree had previously been lower-budget clips from smaller acts with fervent followings, among them Bryce Vine, Blackbear and Wallows.

I’d like to think that if you see a video online, you’re gonna know it’s me.

Drew Kirsch

Bursting with color and doubling as an LGBTQ call to action, Taylor Swift‘s video for “You Need to Calm Down” — complete with cameos from Ellen DeGeneres, Todrick Hall, Laverne Cox, the cast of Queer Eye, alumni from RuPaul’s Drag Race and many more — has garnered 67 million views since its mid-June release. The extravaganza was co-directed by Swift and first-time collaborator Drew Kirsch, a Los Angeles-based director whose pedigree had previously been lower-budget clips from smaller acts with fervent followings, among them Bryce Vine, Blackbear and Wallows.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The response to this new video, naturally, was immediate. “Since ‘You Need to Calm Down’ came out, I’ve been getting a lot of emails and a ton of support from friends and family,” says Kirsch. And with the monster success of “You Need to Calm Down” behind him, he’s now setting his sights on feature films. “Features have always intrigued me because I’ve wanted to tell a longer story that has an impact on people,” he says. “Just like films have had an impact on me.”