‘Hot Ones’: Lupita Nyong’o Tells Sean Evans How She Convinced Taylor Swift To Use ‘Shake It Off’ In ‘Little Monsters’

In First We Feast‘s newest episode of Hot Ones, Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o dished on her hardest roles, life after an Oscar, and her favorite, most underrated salad dressing.

Around the fifth wing in the episode, hosted as usual by Sean Evans, Nyong’o explained how she single-handedly was able to convince Taylor Swift to allow Little Monsters, her 2019 horror comedy, to use Shake It Off in the film after producers of the movie failed to clear the rights.

The accomplished actress told Evans that it all began with a dark period in her life.

“When I was working in London, on Star Wars, I was going through a lot of self-doubt because it was the second thing I had done,” Nyong’o said. “I was getting a little depressed. My best friend came to London, and Taylor had just released Shake It Off. He played it for me to get me into better spirits, and we just jumped on my bed and danced and danced.”

She continued, “So when I read the script for Little Monsters, that song and what it meant to Miss Caroline and to the kindergarteners, it meant a lot to me that I was going to get to play it on the ukulele and everything.”

“So when they came and they told me that ‘Ah, no, we can’t get the rights,’ I decided, OK, I’m going to go, I’m going to make a pitch, 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,” Nyong’o explained.

“And I haven’t actually seen her since to thank her for it,” she added.  

Evans replied, “Well, you can now!”

“Thank you so much, Taylor!” Nyong’o said gratefully to the camera. “Thank you, thank you.”

Nyong’o’s emotions throughout the episode seemed dependent on how scalding the wings were, with her switching between laughter and tears the hotter the wings got. 

While she completed the challenge successfully, and with a standing ovation from the production crew, Nyong’o made one thing clear as she left: she has no plans to ever return.

New episodes of Hot Ones premiere every Thursday at 11/10c on YouTube.