https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/taylor-swift/taylor-swift-evermore-selena-gomez-dorothea-theories
Track 8, “dorothea,” inspired a particular frenzy on social media, with Swifties assigning many possible identities to the titular subject.
The most fervent (and well-researched) theory speculated that the song was about Swift’s longtime friend Selena Gomez.
And fans came with receipts:
Dorothea by Taylor Swift is about Selena Gomez. pic.twitter.com/k2o1Swp1sy
— FR (@dreamyselala) December 11, 2020
Many of the lyrics do seem applicable to Gomez, such as “you got shiny friends since you left the town” (read: famous model pals), “and tiny screen’s the only place i see you now” (read: pandemic FaceTime calls with Swift, of which there is photographic evidence), “oh, you’re a queen selling dreams, selling makeup and magazines” (read: Gomez has a makeup line and is no stranger to magazine covers).
hey dorothea do you ever stop and think about me? when we were younger down in the park #evermorealbum pic.twitter.com/4uWLwsm2h5
— fran (@SELSREP) December 11, 2020
Fans dug beneath the surface parallels too, pointing to Gomez’s love of The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy … Dorothea?).
Still, others were convinced Swift was referencing Karlie Kloss. And their evidence, too, is compelling:
So, #Dorothea is about Karlie Kloss, right?
If you’re tired of being known for who you know = her connection with the Trumps.
Selling makeup and magazines = model and Estée Lauder brand deal
It’s never too late to come back to my side = Scooter Braun issues #evermorealbum
— jayne (@jaynehamlyn) December 11, 2020
A Dianna Agron faction jumped out as well …
betty is karlie kloss, dorothea is dianna. elaborate on that? no.
— serene (@cowgayIikeme) December 11, 2020
As for the song’s title, many dedicated Swifties insisted that (in true “betty” fashion) the moniker doubles as the name of Swift’s friend Gigi Hadid’s baby daughter.
Again, we can’t argue with this logic:
Y’all hear me out. My bestfriend just cracked something i guess. “August” is track 8 on folkore and gigi has posted a picture on Instagram captioning “August, waiting for our girl” and the track 8 of evermore is dorothea. SO WHAT IF GIGI’S BABY’S NAME IS DOROTHEA?🤯 pic.twitter.com/M5TXJjqaGV
— augustika (@august__girl) December 10, 2020
Care to comment, Zigi?