Here’s why people think fictional vampire Lestat de Lioncourt is feuding with Taylor Swift

polygon.com:

Taylor Swift has found a new rival: Lestat de Lioncourt, aka the fictional vampire first penned by Anne Rice and currently played by Sam Reid in AMC’sInterview With the Vampire.

For context, over the weekend AMC released a first clip of the upcoming third season, wherein Lestat becomes a rockstar (as he will in the third season; more on that below). The little teaser showed Reid as Lestat sitting down for an interview and generally acting like a bit of a diva. Reid is already masterful as the theatrical Lestat, but this short video shows just how perfect a rockstar Lestat truly us.

Here’s where things get fun. In a since deleted X post, a fan juxtaposed images of Lestat in this clip with some of Taylor Swift in her “Blank Space” music video, with the lyric “I’ve got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane” — a reference to Lestat’s toxic relationship with Louis, which fuels the first two seasons of the show.

And then, because this is the internet and X in the year 2024, some people got mad.

friends I think Lestat is winning the stan war pic.twitter.com/UuJYdwXewH

Now since this is the internet and X in 2024, so it is entirely possible that the person who responded with a passionate defense of Taylor Swift was trolling. However, that did not stop people from taking that and running with it, because the idea of Lestat starting a stan war on X was just so damn in character.

You’re laughing. Lestat de lioncourt is being cancelled by swifties and you’re laughing. https://t.co/tgfafeZykK

Lestat getting canceled and igniting stan wars less 24hrs after his debut is, unironically, exactly on brand for Lestat pic.twitter.com/XgusgriAem

It also helped that Taylor Swift serendipitously played “I Don’t Wanna to Live Forever” as a surprise song at her most recent concert. Talk about timing (what if I told you she’s a mastermind?).

this is lestat shade https://t.co/aqj9Edc62a

Personally, I think we should pit fictional characters against celebrities more often;