Lupita Nyong’o has revealed how she was able to get permission from Taylor Swift to use the smash hit Shake It Off in her 2019 film Little Monsters.
The 41-year-old Kenyan-Mexican actress, who stunned in a Prada outfit earlier this week, had tears streaming down her face when she was a guest on the latest episode of Hot Ones on Thursday.
Lupita was emotionally drawn to 34-year-old Taylor’s 2014 hit and really wanted her to appear in her horror comedy film, so she took matters into her own hands.
He told host Sean Evans: “When they came to me and said, ‘Oh no, we can’t get the rights,’ I decided that was fine.
Lupita Nyong’o revealed how she was able to get permission from Taylor Swift to use the hit Shake It Off in her 2019 film Little Monsters.
Lupita was emotionally drawn to Taylor, 34,’s 2014 hit and really wanted her to appear in her horror-comedy film, so she took matters into her own hands; Taylor is seen in the music video for Shake It Off
‘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 she got me out of almost depression and the next thing I knew, it was cleared up.’
Taylor’s song played a crucial role in Little Monsters, as the film ended with a touching moment playing in the background.
Lupita had previously spoken about how the song had helped her get through a difficult time, as in January 2019 she spoke to reporters at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and revealed how the success lifted her up amidst a difficult stage in his career.
“I was going through a difficult time professionally and I was feeling depressed,” Nyong’o said.
The 12 Years a Slave star said that at the time she was “working overseas” and her “best friend came to cheer her up” amid her depression.
“He put Shake It Off on his phone,” she said, “and we just had a dance party in my room.”
The Oscar winner said it “meant a lot” to her to have the song included in the film, something she helped make a reality after learning that the filmmakers were having difficulty obtaining the rights to the pop song.
“I wrote to Taylor Swift myself, asked her and told her that story, and she said yes!” said the Kenyan-Mexican beauty, who in the film plays a teacher named Miss Caroline who plays the song on a ukulele to keep the children calm.
She told host Sean Evans: “When they came to me and said ‘oh, we can’t get the rights’, I decided okay. ‘I’m going to go, I’m going to do a presentation, I’m going to let Taylor know what this song is.’ means to me and I told him that story about how he got me out of almost depression and the next thing I knew I was clean.'”
Taylor’s song played a crucial role in Little Monsters (pictured), as the film ended with a touching moment heard in the background.
Lupita appears in her latest film A Quiet Place: Day One, which is now in theaters. It is a prequel to 2018’s A Quiet Place and 2020’s A Quiet Place Part II.
Lupita spoke about the silence on the film: ‘When you don’t have any lines and it’s all in the nuances of body and facial expressions, you have to listen to each take in a more nuanced way, so it actually makes it more exciting. I found it very liberating.’
Lupita can be seen in her latest film A Quiet Place: Day One, which is now in theaters. It is a prequel to 2018’s A Quiet Place and 2020’s A Quiet Place Part II.
The film centers on her character, Sam, who finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultrasonic hearing.
She spoke on Hot Ones about what it was like playing a silent role.
Lupita explained: “When you don’t have any lines and it’s all in the nuances of body and facial expressions, you have to listen to each take in a more nuanced way, so it actually makes it more exciting. I found it very liberating.”
