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Lupita Nyong’o Personally Asked Taylor Swift for Permission to Use ‘Shake It Off’ in ‘Little Monsters’
Lupita Nyong’o had one major request when preparing to film Little Monsters in 2019 — she wanted Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” on the soundtrack.
The A Quiet Place: Day One star, 41, recalled personally asking the pop star, 34, for permission to use the tune in the film during the Thursday, June 27, episode of First We Feast’s “Hot Ones.”
“When I read the script for Little Monsters [and saw] that song and what it meant to Miss Caroline and to the kindergartners, [it] meant a lot to me that I was going to get to play it on the ukulele and everything,” Lupita said.
The film crew was unable to obtain rights for “Shake It Off,” but Lupita wasn’t going to let it end there.
“When they told me, ‘No, we can’t get the rights,’ I decided, ‘OK. I’m going to go, I’m going to make a pitch,” the Kenyan-Mexican actress continued. “[I thought,] I’m going to let Taylor know what this song means to me, and I told her that story about how it lifted me from an almost-depression, and the next thing I knew, it was cleared. I haven’t actually seen her since to thank her for it.”
Lupita revealed that she first heard “Shake It Off,” which was the lead single off Taylor’s album 1989 in 2014, while filming Star Wars.
“I was going through a lot of self-doubt because it was the second thing I had done. I was getting a little depressed,” she explained. “My best friend came to London [where I was shooting] and Taylor had just released ‘Shake It Off’ and he played it for me to like get me into better spirits. We just jumped on my bed, and we just danced and danced, and it lifted my spirits.”
Lupita played Miss Audrey Caroline, a kindergarten teacher, in Little Monsters. The film follows Audrey as she teams up with a washed-up musician and a children’s TV personality to protect her young students from a zombie outbreak. Lupita sings an acoustic rendition of “Shake It Off” in the film.
Though Lupita’s costar Alexander England and director Abe Forsythe praised her singing voice after the film’s release, she said she likely wouldn’t pursue a singing career anytime soon.
“That is very generous of them,” she told Us Weekly at the movie’s New York City premiere in October 2019. “I’m going to stay in my lane. That’s what I’m going to say. I’m staying in my lane!”
“She never sung on screen before. And she certainly never played the ukulele before, and she did both of those things for this movie and she was incredible,” Abe, 42, told the outlet of the actress’ talent. “I mean, no surprise. She’s incredible. When she commits to something, she commits 110 percent.”
Lupita has also committed to being a Swiftie, and she saw the “Cruel Summer” hitmaker perform live on her iconic Eras tour in Los Angeles in August 2023.
“Best time discovering my Eras era with my sister Fiona, [Sarah Paulson] and her sister Rachel,” the Us star wrote on Instagram after the show. “Earrings bejeweled by @debeersofficial and friendship bracelets by me … and some of you!! Thanks to all the Swifties for your suggestions — trading bracelets was super sweet.”
